Red Reel Of Fate
by Butterfrogmantis
Summary: TTTE AU. Skiff Eastport-Pram is a humble man living in a small village by sea. When a company with mass fishing technologies and a sinister attitude to business threaten Skiff's life long profession, he's forced to search deeper waters to uphold his income - and his dead father's honour. But what he discovers out there may have the power to alter the rest of his life ...
1. Prologue

Prologue

__20 years earlier …__

__"F-I-S-H"__

__"And what does that spell?"__

__The child squinted at the page, trying to make out what the strange letters could possibly mean. He knew a few animals of course.__

__"Dog!"__

__"What?" The man chuckled kindly, and set his fishing pole down to hang over the side of the boat.__

__Its bait bobbed calmly on the ocean surface, but no catch was biting just yet. It was a clear sunny day, with only the faintest tufts of clouds blocking the otherwise cerulean sky. The midday sun shone high over head, warming the top's of the sailor's hair and making the sides of the little boat hot to touch. The ocean below sparkled as it sloshed about lazily, rolling over the sides of the little dinghy the people were sat in.__

__The adult man wobbled a little going across the deck, but was soon squished up next to his son, picture book being held at each end by one of them.__

__"Look here Skiff, spell it out differently – look there's even a picture to help you!"__

__His finger pointed to a neon coloured goldfish on the adjacent page. It was emitting several bubbles from its amber lips as it swam above an impressive sunken pirate ship.__

__Skiff knew what that was of course, he'd seen oh so many of these creatures. In fact, he was pretty sure that's what they were searching for in the waters today. Then they'd take a few home and his mother would make a pie or something delicious like that. The child's mouth watered at the mere thought of pie, but he was still quite a way out into the ocean, pie-less, but with his picture book in hand.__

__"C'mon champ. f-i-s-h. What does that say?"__

__"F ... fish!"__

__"Well done!" His father gave an excited little clap "Clever boy! That's what ol' Finn's catching out here" He nodded towards the still bobbing bait and sighed. "Unfortunately the numbers of fish seem to go down each year..."__

__For a moment he sounded lost in thought, wondering how much he could say in front of his son, who was not old enough to grasp the concept of economy. The two of them lived in a small village called Brigodston, famous for its variety of marine life. Its ocean had a thriving eco system, and any fish caught were of some of the highest quality in the entire country, so sales were high and in demand. The Eastport's had been a fishing family for generations; each and every one knew their way around a fishing rod like a blacksmith knew his tools. To them, fishing was a noble art. Finn's father had sat him in a boat and taught him to fish, and one day Finn wanted to teach his own little Skiff to fish. Hopefully one day Skiff would be sitting in a boat too, teaching his own children to fish. But there had been a concerning drop in the amount of catch caught recently. A few years ago Finn could bring back as much as 60 fish in a day if the weather was right. The numbers had been declining. Now he considered an honest day's work to be 20-30 fish. There was no sign of disease or acidity in the water, or any new predators. Perhaps it had just been a bad breeding season. Whatever the reason, Finn's income had dropped. They still had enough to buy the basics, and the occasional pounds saved over for a rainy day or a treat for Skiff. But times were cruel, and Finn had heard rumours about new technologies and bigger boats that could catch as many as 20000 fish in a single day. That kind of thing could seriously put him and his family's business at risk. Finn refused to see the day he'd stop fishing the Brigodston way. Even so, the lack of catch was worrying. He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and tried to concentrate on his son again.__

__"Now, we like fish don't we?" Finn smiled, pointing back at the goldfish. Skiff nodded obediently, his turquoise eyes shimmering.__

__"Tasty pie!" Skiff clamoured, pleased to remember.__

__"That's right!" Finn grinned approvingly "We like mommy's fish pie!"__

__"Fish! Fish! Fish!"__

__"Mhmn!" Finn was pleased with his enthusiasm, but Skiff was becoming a little carried away, bouncing in his seat and waving his arms about.__

__"Fish!" The child made stabbing movements just behind his father.__

__The man turned, and saw what had caused such excitement in his son. The bait had gone under. There was a fish on the end. Finn's own eyes lit up in childish excitement, like a puppy that'd just been offered a treat. He leapt across the deck, swinging the boat and causing Skiff to emit a little 'whee', before grabbing a firm hold of the line. Without even seeing the fish he could already feel the sheer weight. The rod bent with a little effort, and the fisherman began frantically trying to bring it to surface.__

__Skiff watched, fascinated. To him, his father was a hero - a man worthy of awe. Watching him reel in this fish was an absolute honour in the child's eyes.__

__Finn struggled for a good few minutes with the reel, until, with one final strain, the thing holding the end breeched free from the water. Finn stumbled, tripped over a lobster cage, and fell off the side of the boat.__

__If he hadn't, perhaps he would have seen what his son saw in that moment. What came off the end of the line was, from tail to waist, a dolphin. That was more than impressive enough. If any fisherman but an Eastport said they caught a dolphin with a fishing rod, you'd laugh in his face. But what was more impressive was what Skiff saw from the waist up. It was a woman. A woman itself of course, wasn't that impressive, Skiff had seen many. His own mother was one. But this woman was attached to the dolphin tail. There was only one creature that Skiff knew that looked like that, and he didn't even need a picture book to tell him what. He gripped the sides of his father's boat, staring in amazement.__

__Finn was clambering back onto his boat, a little sodden, but otherwise ok.__

__"Mermaid!" Skiff yelled, pointing to where the creature's tail could be seen diving back into the ocean.__

__Finn blinked, and then laughed a great booming laugh that shook the sides of his little dinghy.__

__"That was a genuine dolphin son! Look at the flat tail!"__

__But Skiff shook his head. He may have been only 5, but he knew a mermaid when he saw one.__

__"Nu-uh! Mermaid! She had yellow hair!"__

__His father shook his head in bemusement, and ruffled Skiff's chocolate tresses fondly. His rod had snapped, so there could be no more fishing that day, he'd have to return to land.__

__"Enough tales for today Skiff, aren't you excited that you saw a dolphin? I haven't seen many around here" He scratched his chin thoughtfully "I wonder if that's what's been eating the fish"__

__"I promise it was a mermaid!" Skiff pouted, wondering why his father didn't seem as excited. Finn had often told him bedtime stories about great kingdoms under the waves, full of fish-people. Skiff loved them, and now he'd seen one! This was the discovery of a lifetime. Surely the village would love it too. Skiff began to burble on about the sighting.__

__Finn merely nodded his head as he began to row back, his shirt sticking to him with sea water. Mermaids were a cute enough sailors tale. If Skiff truly thought he'd seen a fish woman this story was going to be adored by the townsfolk, who'd always had a soft spot for the cute little boy and his wild imagination.__

__Skiff had long abandoned his book; he was staring down into the blue below. Below the surface, just for a moment - he saw a flash of blonde and silver. It was enough. He beamed. It didn't matter what his dad said, or what the villagers thought were little child's fantaises later on in the village. Skiff Eastport-Pram knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that merfolk were truly real after all. Better yet, he'd seen one.__


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There was nothing about the morning that seemed in any way unusual. In fact, as Skiff grabbed a slice of bread from the kitchen counter, put on his yellow coat, and headed out of the door, he found himself thinking about how just how perfectly ordinary every single day in Brigodston was. He woke at 7 most days, and would read for an hour before getting ready and setting out of the house to do a perfectly normal job. He, like his late father, his father before him, his mother before him, and the countless generations of Eastport's prior had all done the same thing.

Before his untimely sailing accident, Finn had succeeded in training his son to be a fisherman. Skiff could tell his tuna from his haddock blindfolded, and any trick that there was to be known by a fisherman, he knew. Not a cod alive could escape the tempting bait and quick reel of his handiwork. Skiff also had a little boat of his own, it was small with a flat bow and stern, its hull painted white. Its upper woodworking's were a cobalt blue, including its mast, whilst it's lower was a bright cyan. The sail Skiff flew from it was white with 2 diagonal yellow stripes. This little dinghy provided the vessel that the man would sit in for his day's work.

Many stalls lined the southern Brigodston pathway. There was a small stall by the harbour wall, and this stall was Skiff's stall. He kept buckets of fresh ice cold throughout the day whilst he fished in the morning. During the afternoon, around lunchtime, he would sell a hard day's work. It wasn't a lot of income, but it was enough to sustain a single man with few wants or desires.

So when Skiff returned that afternoon with 27 fish – less than he'd hoped, but more than earlier that week – he didn't suspect that anything out of the ordinary was going to happen as he set up his stand.

He'd also caught a squid that day, which was a pretty rare prize, and he already anticipated the weight of the extra few coins in his pocket. He put the squid in the centre of his stand, and sat down with his book to await the onset of customers. There were a couple of people walking their dogs along the harbour who stopped and greeted Skiff, and one of them commented on the squid, remarking that he was regretfully planning to have beef stew that night and couldn't buy it. Skiff didn't mind, he was sure that there were plenty of others willing to clamour for it. An hour and a half later and 6 more chapters into his book, Skiff was beginning to grow anxious. Not a single customer had arrived yet. In fact, he hadn't even seen that many people walk down the path at all, apart from some more of the occasional dog walkers. Was there some sort of festival he'd forgotten about happening? His calendar had been blank for the next week or two.

"Excuse me!" He called to a young girl that was walking a chocolate brown Labrador nearby. "Do you know where everyone is today?"

The girl's mouth hung open for a moment or two as she tried to recall an answer. Something seemed to click in her mind.

"Oh! They were gathered around the big boat in the harbour!"

"Big boat?"

The child nodded, pulling her dog back from trying to steal one of Skiff's cod.

"HUGE boat! It was big and black and shiny"

"What was the boat doing?" Skiff asked, nervous and curious at the same time.

"Didn't see"

"Oh ... well" Skiff nodded and waved goodbye to the child.

A huge, black shiny boat sounded interesting. It also sounded like trouble. It had already succeeded in stealing Skiff's customers for the day. Hopefully they'd come along later that evening once they'd had their fill of the size of it.

A few minutes later, an old man walked down the street and Skiff tried his question again.

"Ah yes, the big black boat" The old man glanced down at Skiff's stall, and suddenly came over a little solemn.

"I'm sorry"

But before Skiff could ask what he was sorry about, the old man had shuffled down the street and around the corner. This was all very perplexing. When at last a middle aged woman rounded the corner pushing a pram, Skiff asked a final time whether she knew anything of the black boat, and why an old man would be sorry for him. Her cheeks grew pink and she avoided looking at Skiff, instead staring sheepishly at the wheels of her baby's pram.

"There was a large sign on it saying 'Pescecorp'"

"What's that?"

The woman shifted uneasily on her feet and tried to move away, but Skiff was ready this time.

"Please!"

Her eyes grew wide and she scanned the empty street as though she were about to reveal a deep secret.

"I don't know enough about them ... or if they're staying" She admitted. "They ... they fish"

"Fish?"

She nodded, her expression grave.

"Huge nets ... thousands of fish"

"T-thousands?"

"Or more"

Skiff looked back to his little stall. Suddenly his impressive 27 fish catch didn't seem quite as impressive. And if Pescecorp were here, that's where his customers had gone. Slowly, he sunk onto the chair behind his stall, feeling as though someone had punched him hard in the stomach. The mother stood over him worriedly, nibbling her lip. She, like everyone else in Brigodston, knew of the Eastport's line of great fishers, and how much the profession meant to them. But a few thousand fish certainly brought in the crowds.

"A-are you alright?" She asked.

Skiff inhaled sharply, and then blew out hard through his nose.

"I suppose I will be" He ran his fingers through his hands "It all depends"

The woman placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Your father was a great man Skiff"

The fisherman nodded, a tear welling up in his eyes. Finn had been a great man alright, and a most excellent fisherman. If the storm hadn't of blown his boat over all those years ago, the news of Pescecorp was bound to have finished him off this day. Perhaps it was just as well neither of Skiff's parents were here to see the dooming of the Eastport's profession.

The mother brought a couple of Skiff's fish to try and lift his spirits, but when he trailed home that night he'd only managed to sell a further 6, which was as humiliating as it was pitiful. Skiff ate his prize squid that night, feeling the weight in his stomach compensating for the emptiness of his wallet. The thoughts of Pescecorp were making his meal taste like rubber, and even as he washed up, he wondered how many thousands of prize catches the nets had stolen from him that day.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Skiff set out earlier than usual the next morning. 4am to be exact - he checked the clock. Today would be the day he made up for yesterday's poor sell and return home with a full wallet and less fish. Luckily, the fish were biting early that morning and the sailor managed to collect a further 18 by the time he rowed back to shore in his little dinghy and tied it along the western harbour line. It was 9am by this point, and the shops along the streets were beginning to flip their red 'closed' signs around to the green sides that welcomed potential customers in with an 'open'.

Brigodston had several harbours, but the western one was the closest to Skiff's home, and the section of ocean it led out to was usually the most pregnant with catch. Several little boats of varying sizes were lying near the stone walls, their sails flapping lazily in the morning air. Gull's perched on the bows and sterns of the vessels, cawing nosily to each other over the sound of the gentle waves. Two little crabs ran across the sand in front of Skiff's foot as he dragged his dawn haul from his own skiff, before making his way, barefooted, onto the ramp leading up to the main town. He replaced his shoes once he made it off the beach, and then set out to find his stall, which was still standing along the southern seafront.

Along the way he side stepped into a small little patisserie to buy breakfast. Two old ladies sat at a small table by the window, but it was otherwise empty except for the people behind the counter. Skiff knew of both of them – the siblings Dan and Nelly Blair, the only two on the whole of Brigodston who'd never so much as paddled in the sea. Their mother was Lucy Blair, the mayor of Brigodston. She'd always insisted that her children take part in village life, which they'd protested at, but eventually agreed to, so long as they didn't have to haul around 'stinking fish' all day.

Both of the siblings were as attractive as each other, with fair hair and smoky grey eyes. Nelly had a series of freckles running across her cheeks, and Dan had a small beauty spot on the right side of his chin.

"One apricot croissant and a coffee please" Skiff requested, making sure to leave his fish just outside the door.

Dan served him the croissant whilst Nelly set about making his drink. Skiff waited patiently for both orders, watching with curiosity at how the drinks were prepared from the dispensers.

It looked an easy enough job, but why anyone would reject the opportunity to fish, he didn't know.

"4 50" Nelly smiled, holding out her hand. Skiff passed over the right amount of change, took the bag containing his breakfast and started heading towards the door.

"You forgot your receipt" Dan grunted, coming out from behind the counter.

"Oh I don't need o-"

Dan pressed a piece of paper into Skiff's hands and then walked briskly back into the kitchen. Skiff looked down at it expecting to see proof of a meagre purchase, but was surprised to find he had not been given a receipt – but a warning. On the paper Dan had passed him were the words 'stay away from her' in red ink. Skiff blinked, completely taken aback.

Perhaps it wasn't such an uncommon warning. As the mayor's children, and attractive people in general, there was no shortage of men and women in the village that had flirted and dated both of the Blair children. Skiff however, had never been one. In fact he hadn't even considered the prospect. For being the child of well known families, The Eastport's matched the Blair's. But the Blair's status was political and built on wealth. The Eastport's were merely nice people who'd served countless generations of families their supper for the night. In fact, as a general thing, Skiff had never even considered the prospect of dating anyone at all, had no plans to, and had no duty to. He was friends with everyone, and that was more than enough for him. He shoved the paper into his back pocket with a shrug, and retrieved his fish for the market.

To his delight, it was much busier today, and he separated the fish from yesterday to one half of the stall, noting they were not as fresh as the others, but just as eatable. He even discounted those, and was pleased to see the coins in his pocket again. He'd almost forgotten about Pescecorp, up until a brand new customer he'd never seen before passed just in front of his stall.

He was a tall man with broad shoulders that stretched the fabric of a dark grey turtleneck jumper. Over the top was a set of orange overalls, which were tucked into heavy duty black boots and cut short before a pair of blue gloves. The man wore a grey cap over his hair, and a set of sunglasses, so much of his face was obscured from the public eye, except for a few black hairs that hung around his ears and the back of his head, silvery grey at the roots. Although Skiff knew nothing of this man, he suddenly heard whispers ring around the market.

"Is that him?"

"David Joneson?"

"The leader of that Pescecorp Company?"

"That's big Dave alright"

Big was one word for Dave alright. Even without the boots, Skiff would have had to have guessed the man reached at least 6ft 3. With the boots, he towered above everyone in the streets, and his erratic uniform didn't help either. As he passed the Eastport-Pram fishing stand, he cast a sideways glance at the dozen fish still lying in the ice. Behind his glasses, Skiff saw one dark green eye stare at him. The other socket, that made Skiff's body tingle, was empty, and a small scar ran along the underside of that void. Dave's mouth twitched at Skiff, and then he moved on from the stall, and around the corner.

Instantaneously, the entire street seemed to breathe out, as though they'd been holding a collective breath. Several onlookers came up to Skiff to ask what he'd seen, whether he knew the man, or if he'd said anything. Skiff admitted that he hadn't, but fear clawed at his insides like a rake. If that man was leading Pescecorp, Skiff's first impression somehow wasn't one of an ecofriendly company. He hurried about selling his last few fish, wanting to find the man again, wanting to see what was going on. Out of desperation, Skiff packed up his stand earlier than he'd been meaning too, storing his last remaining haddock in some fresh ice for his dinner later. His wallet fell full enough for the time being, but his curiosity was not yet fulfilled.

As luck would have it, he spotted the old man from yesterday and quickly ran up, startling him a little.

"Sir do you remember where the big black boat was from yesterday?"

The pensioner's pupils retracted behind his spectacles, but then he nodded gravely, sensing the fisherman already knew about the company, and he figured, their threat.

"North-eastern dock" He murmured, looking at the ground.

"Thank you" Skiff nodded, and began to make his way over. The North-eastern dock was one rarely visited by Skiff, for it was in the richer area of Brigodston, where the trading came in. Fish weren't as plentiful due to being scared off by the large ships and ferries, so there was no reason for him to go unless he was after other forms of trades and goods, which he almost never was.

As he approached, he heard the black boat before he saw it. A large, thundering foghorn that sent a small flock of kittiwakes scattering into the sky. Skiff rounded the corner, and finally saw the Pescecorp boat for the first time.

Much like Dave, the word big was an understatement. It was huge, taking up almost the entire section of the dock. Surely the fit through the harbour wall must have been an awfully tight squeeze. Skiff saw silver lettering along the broadsides which spelt 'PESCECORP' in large capital letters. Above the letters was a large painted fish, who's mouth was open in a little o shape as a net was being thrown over it. But the painted silver fish had nothing on what lay on the dockside under the boat. Dave stood between two other people, who were dressed in the same uniform. In front of them was a large platform. And on that platform were fish and cephalopods. Not 27 like Skiff's catch from yesterday. There were absolutely thousands.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Cods, haddocks, anchovies, tunas, mackerels, herrings, lobsters, crabs, squids, octopi, shrimps, prawns and all kinds of whitefishes and plaice. They were all lined up in front of the three men in the hundreds. Skiff cast his eye quickly along the platform and felt his jaw drop slightly. At the other end were three large swordfish. Swordfish of all the creatures. Skiff had considered a squid a rare catch the other day, but to have three swordfish lined up for eating like it was an everyday occurrence was bizarre – there was no way his little rod was ever going to be able to pull one swordfish up, let alone 3.

Skiff studied the two men standing either side of Dave. One was almost the same height as his boss, a burly olive skinned man who had a tattoo of a scantily clad woman in fishnet stockings on his left forearm. He had fine chestnut tresses scraped back into a long ponytail, with little stray hairs flying around his face. The other man was smaller (although probably still taller than most of the other citizens) but unlike his stocky companions he was almost streamlined in build, with angular eyes that were observing the front rows of customers for those that might be considering helping themselves. His hair was slicked back with so much gel that Skiff imagined a strong wind would freeze it in place.

Skiff edged closer, slipping through the crowds of people until he could see the fish up close. Their scales glittered in the sunlight, as if teasing the lack of silver in Skiff's pockets. Skiff looked at the little placards at the front of the stands that told him the prices. His jaw dropped even lower then – these were being sold at twice the price he'd dare to ask for. And, when he cast an experienced eye down the fish up close, he was concerned to see how many of the fish looked ... less than fresh.

"Excuse me?" Skiff called to the three men, pointing at a haddock that was sitting just in front of him "When was this caught?"

The streamlined man's lip twitched, as though he resented the question.

"All these fish are fit for eating" He grunted.

"You didn't answer my question" Skiff pointed out.

Streamlined man turned to Dave.

"Sir? We have a ... complaint on our hands"

"What is it Zak?"

Zak nodded towards Skiff.

"Guy wants to know when the fish was caught"

Dave's eyes swivelled towards Skiff, or uh, eye as he recalled, not trusting himself to stare into the depths of the dark glasses. One of the man's eyebrows rose, as if in recognition.

"Oh" He chuckled, a throaty sound "You're the small stand fisherman"  
Skiff felt his cheeks burn pink with humiliation. 'Small stand' why he, a descendant of countless generations of honest fishermen, was no 'small stand'. His fish stall was by far the biggest in the village – at least it had been, until this Pescecorp showed up. Skiff sighed internally. More like Pesky-corp. But he wasn't backing down without a fight.

"It's not as big as yours no, but at least all my fish are fresh"

A few people gasped, and Skiff was well aware that many eyes had turned on him. It was a spectacle – come and see the Eastport-Pram take on the big company. Who was the scammer?

Dave didn't seem particularly intimidated by Skiff's challenge. He drummed his sausage like fingers on the table.

"Funny. I could have sworn one half of your small stand said 'discounted fish – caught yesterday"

Skiff's cheeks burnt redder still, and he thought he heard a couple of laughs in the crowd.

"All of my fish are caught within a 24 hour period, so yes, they were fresh" He mumbled "And your fish are piled on top of each other, that'll encourage rot"

A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. Dave didn't like it. No-one had ever dared challenge him, least of all a poor fisherman with less meat on him than one of Pescecorp's plaice. Zak stepped forwards but Dave put an arm in front to stop him. Resorting to physical violence wasn't required yet. They had to play the silver-tongued company game first.

"Normally yes, however our fish are all sold within a 24 hour period, or otherwise disposed. No fish on our stands is rotten"

"Disposed? You just ... dump the unsold fish?" Skiff was baffled. The company surely couldn't expect to sell thousands of fish in a single day to a tiny little village.

"You said so yourself – we can only sell fresh fish. If they rot we wouldn't want the good people of Brigodston eating those and getting ill now would we?" Dave's smile was composed and cal, but Skiff noticed a temple in his head was beginning to throb. The sailor was definitely getting to them.

"That's a waste of fish!"

"It's eco friendly" The olive skinned man, who had not said anything, yet spoke up "The unsold fish are returned to be part of the environment"

"So you're dumping thousands of dead fish bodies BACK into the sea?!"

Several shocked gasps spread through the crowds, and whispers started.

"The dead fish are caught much easier by the other fish - and so sustain a well fed ecosystem for our catch the next day. The fish we catch are then much better quality" He poked a finger towards a particularly large Tuna in front of him "We just help the circle of life"  
A few mummers of admiration surged through the crowds, and people pushed forwards to buy fish. Skiff was left feeling dejected.

"Cheer up kid" Dave laughed. Skiff thought it sounded a lot like a hyena from one of the old nature documentaries he used to watch in school – harsh and cold.

"But what about overfishing?" He continued, not wanting to go down without a last little fight.

"Marcos here was right" Dave lit a cigarette "We help sustain a better ecosystem out there"

"But if you kill off all the fish before breeding system they won't come back!"

"Oh we'll find other places by then" Something short of a sinister smirk crossed the man's face. "Then you'll have the town to yourself again small stand"

"But if you've killed off all the fish there won't be any left for me TO give the town" Skiff protested, feeling hot under his shirt, even though it was relatively cool with the sea breeze around the dock.

"Better start stocking then" Zak smirked, grabbing one of the nets from the pile by the Pescecorp boat and chucking it at Skiff. "Do it like we do if you think we're so good"

"Plus you could always find some other job" Marco's leered "Now we've got yours I'd suggest writing in your application"

"I heard fishnet stockings are in fashion" Zak giggled "You could always move onto fashion"

"This town does need a little livening up" Dave smirked, and flicked his cigarette butt at the ground near Skiff's feet "I'd say small stand could recycle those fishing rods of his into lovely coat hangers"

"Or mannequins"

The three of them laughed and returned back to the centre of their stand to gather money from customers. Skiff watched in disbelief as the equivalent of a month's savings was poured into the greedy hands of the three Pescecorp workers. He looked down at the net that Zak had thrown at him. It was a much thicker net than Skiff had ever used, and the holes were smaller, designed to keep even smaller fish in. Well, if it was a fight for fish that Pescecorp wanted, they'd found one. Skiff didn't care if he had to paddle back with a wet backside the next day – he was going to collect so many fish that even Dave would tremble beneath him.

He knew this was highly improbable of course, Skiff only had his small dinghy, and Pescecorp practically had a ferry. But he wasn't going down without defending his family's honour. Brigodston had always been Eastport turf, and Skiff was going to keep his father's legend alive. He bundled the net into a compact package in his arms and set off back home. Oh yes, rod and net combined, he was going to bring something really special back to Brigodston tomorrow, he just knew it.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rain pattered onto the sleeve of Skiff's coat as he hunched up in the middle of his dinghy, trying to read his book by torch light. It was a gentle rain, not enough to deter him from reading, but enough to make the ink run, and so Skiff was using his sleeve to protect the precious pages. What time it was, he had no idea. Judging by the darkness, the stiffness in his legs, and the time he had set out, he'd have to have guessed around 2am, possibly half 2. He'd never been out on his boat this late, nor had he been this far out into the ocean. He might just well be half way across the Atlantic for all he knew, although there was hardly any wind that had stirred the pages between his fingers, let alone his entire vessel.

"The young woman sat on the shore, unknowing that a great danger was approaching"

That was ominous, Skiff thought. He had cast both his rod and Pescecorp's net over the side of the boat to double the chances of a large haul that evening. Despite his realisation that in order to achieve close to the numbers Dave and his cronies brought back he'd need to make several - if not hundreds – of trips, Skiff was still determined not to go down without a fight. He wasn't feeling particularly soldier like right now, hunched up uncomfortably in the middle of nowhere, feeling a little scared. And his neon yellow raincoat was hardly the outfit of an Amazonian warrior, or anything much of a fighting sort. If he could view himself through a third person camera lens, Skiff very much suspected he looked more like a desperate fisherman who had no backup plan to his marine based profession. This, unfortunately, was the truth. Try as he might, he couldn't recall a single ancestor from his father's Eastport side who hadn't fished for a living. Even his mother had profited off of the fishing trade just as much as her in laws. And, as neither of his parents had any siblings or cousins that had been mentioned, Skiff was truly the end of the Eastport line. And, by the looks of it, the end of hundreds of years worth of honest trade.

A droplet of water fell onto the page in his hand, diffusing the letters into a small blue puddle. But it had not been the rain getting through. Skiff wiped his eyes furiously, and shut the book to prevent any more water damage, rain or tears. He hadn't really been concentrating on the past two pages anyway, and would need to reread them at a more appropriate time. Fatigued, cold, and dispirited, the sailor stowed his book in the safe hold under his seat, and then brought his knees up to his chin, staring at nothing in particular on the deck. Several minutes passed in this position. Slish, Slosh, went the sound of the waves lapping against the hull. Slish, slosh. A gentle rhythm, almost like the rocking of a cradle. Left, right. Slish. Slosh. Skiff closed his eyes, the lull of sleep covering him like a blanket, sending him off to-

Thud.

"Whaa!"

The mariner was abruptly thrown backwards off of his seat onto the hard deck. He sat upwards quickly, looking around. The ocean was dark and silent.

"Calm down Skiff, probably your imagination" He hugged himself, still darting his eyes around. All was still. "Probably just a gust of wind ..."

Suddenly, his boat lurched again, smacking him into the starboard side of his dinghy.

"Oof!" He made an effort to stand, and ran towards the bow of his boat, nervous.

His reel was bending in the water, the string bobbing up and down madly, making little circles on the surface. Skiff quickly seized a hold of Pescecorp's net, and guided it close to the reel, until he felt it scoop around something. He tugged. And heaved. Whatever was on the end of his reel, whatever was in his net - was heavy. Skiff couldn't believe his luck. Oh, glorious day! He anticipated the gleaming of all of those wonderful shiny scales, ready to win back his favour with Brigodston. But my my, what a lot of fish there were, for the net was hard to pull, and the reel on the string, which had been caught in the net, was still going crazy. With one final desperate yank, Skiff hauled his catch onto the boat.

For a few seconds, all he could see were stars. Literally, as he was lying on his back. Not wanting to waste any time, Skiff scrambled to sit up, and rushed towards his reel to observe his catches. Hundreds of silver, amber and ebony scales shimmered in the moonlight, but they were not (as he had hoped) attached to multitudes of fish. It was a single tail, about the length of a pair of human legs. At the base was a horizontal tail end, with a thin amber membrane stretching between two points. A black and orange dorsal fin ran down the length of the back, and there were two smaller fins on the underside. Patches of orange and black and the occasional creamy yellow spotted the tail, reminiscent of a koi fish. That was pretty enough, but as Skiff's eyes slid up his catch, he saw something even more surprising. Much like the creature he had seen twenty years before, where the tail ended at the tip ... began the body of a human. This one was masculine, with smooth chestnut skin and flaming shoulder length tresses like a midsummer sunset. Navy blue eyes peered between the netting. His build was athletic, with powerful swimmers muscles in his arms and torso. He had a rather square jaw with a hooked nose that pointed downwards, and unlike most of the humans Skiff had seen, his eyebrows thickened towards the end and thinned in the middle. Above the left (from Skiff's view) was a small silver piercing.

Skiff crawled towards him nervously, not quite believing that there was a merman on his boat. Then he had another thought, Surely a merman was worth way more than any fish Pescecorp had ever pulled up. Even in his ancestry, no one had ever caught one to Skiff's knowledge. He'd caught exactly what he needed to restore all of his financial and emotional debt.

There was no time to lose. Skiff grabbed one of his oars. As he did so, the merman looked at him, and Skiff caught a flash of fangs. He grabbed the other oar, not looking back. He had to be quick. He had to reach Brigodston before everyone woke up and prove that he, not Pescecorp were the master fishers. But he couldn't take his eyes off the sight. He'd always known fish people were real. As the boat began to move, so did Skiff's catch. He seemed to realise that they were heading somewhere else, and began thrashing about on the deck, achieving nothing more than becoming more tangled in Skiff's fishing road. He lay on the floor, panting. Skiff tried to look away, a sense of guilt clawing at him.

"If you're going to sell me could you at least have the mercy to cut the reel first?"

It took a few moments for Skiff to realise that the human half of the merman was speaking. He turned to look back and saw that in his struggle the merman had entwined himself much too tightly in the reel, which was threatening to de-scale him in several places.

"H- how do I know you won't bite me?"

"I'm not the one in a position of kidnapping"

Skiff blushed, but took a knife from his inside pocket and cut some of the string. The merman's scales felt cool under his fingers. Not exactly like fish scales either. Dryer almost.

"I ... I didn't realise you could speak ... human" Skiff admitted, nibbling his lip. He stood above his prize, not making any move back to his oars.

"Well I suppose it adds to the bounty" The fishman sighed. His dorsal fin flopped over onto its side. Skiff had seen this in fish that were in cages too small for them.

"I ..." Skiff sighed, and sat back in the middle of the boat. It bobbed a little on the surface, but moved nowhere. "It's this Pescecorp company you see. They-"

"Them" The merman hissed, his tail twitching. "I suppose you're trying to take me back to that fish killing ferry?"

"N-no! I'm against them!" Skiff promised, and began his tale before the merman could accuse him anymore. He recalled the fish stands, the body dumping, and the threat to his lifestyle as he'd known it. How all he wanted was money and small family fishing, and his horror at Pescecorp's refusal to allow breeding seasons to pass and how they'd soon be no fish left for Brigodston, its founding factor.

"I ... I don't want to sell you to Pescecorp I just wanted ..."

"Money for a miracle" The merman did not sound cold, but he was not entirely sympathetic to the sailor's cause either. "They sell me, cut me open and you get your money. Then what? Other people want to catch merfolk. Pescecorp get hold of it. They start mass fishing for us instead – we're food and pets and playthings for scientists. And you started it. The money soon wears out but it's ok because now you can enslave more of us right?"

Skiff was close to tears. He'd always thought of himself as a good person. Now he could see what he was truly about to do by bringing this specimen back.

"I've seen how humans treat the ocean. Go ahead. If money's all you want I'm sure I'm worth a few months." He sounded defeated. Sad.

It broke Skiff's heart. He picked up a knife. The merman saw.

"Even better for you, now you won't have to hear the truth. Do me a favour though, make it quick"

The merman rolled over onto his side, exposing the length of his throat. Skiff noticed several small scars running down his back.

"Where did these come from?"

"Make me talk to distract myself. Clever tactic" There was almost a hint of commendation in that "Well I've been trying to free fish from the Pescecorp nets. Those things take hours to haul up so I'm usually quite good. I recognised your net and thought I had hours, but you took seconds, which is the only reason you caught me. Nets and rods and fishing hooks are dangerous business. Scars aren't anything new"

Skiff nodded, and raised his knife. The merman lay still on the deck, waiting. He anticipated the cold steel edge. After a while, he was aware of a cool breeze along his shoulders, and he felt a little more weightless. He opened an eye. The fisherman was hurriedly cutting through the ropes that bound him. Unlike any human he'd seen ... the man was freeing him.

"What are you-"

Skiff looked up, his eyes glossy.

"I can't. You're right. About everything. It was selfish of me to put money over ... well. You" He smiled "But I'm not making that mistake. I can't stop Pescecorp but I won't join them. There!" With a last slice, the sailor slid every last twine and rope off of the merman, who looked down at himself, and his captor, in disbelief.

"I won't tell anyone either. Not that they'd believe me" Skiff rubbed the back of his neck. "Just ... if you can ... Keep on freeing those fish"

He sounded so sincere, so sorry, that even the merman was close to tears. But he wanted to seize freedom before the human changed his mind.

"Can you ... help me back in?"

Skiff nodded, and helped to lift the koi tail as the merman hauled himself over the side with his arms. With a heavy heart, Skiff pushed the tail off the side of the boat, and watched it slip into the water. He expected his catch to swim off straight away, and was most surprised when her surfaced next to the boat again.

"If its money you want, meet me at the circular rock by your land at midnight tomorrow"

"Pirate's arch?"

"What ever you human's call it"

Skiff considered, and then nodded.

"Come alone, but bring something hollow"

"Hollow?"

"You humans like to carry things around"

"A bag?"

"One of those will do. Make sure it's a big one"

"Why?"

"Meet me tomorrow and you'll see"

Skiff considered reasons for a second or two, and then simply nodded. He had no alternative after all.

"Deal" The merman nodded, turning his back on the dinghy as he prepared to swim away.

"W-wait!" Skiff called. The head in the water turned.

"What's your name?"

One of the orange eyebrows rose, as if to question the human's motives. He decided no harm could come from this information.

"Captain"

And then, with a flick of his spattered tail, the merman disappeared into the dark water below.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Having returned from his trip empty handed, Skiff didn't bother to open his stall that morning, or afternoon. Pescecorp was probably serving his customers anyway. Instead, he gathered armfuls of adverts for job openings, and spent the morning sitting at his coffee table with a red biro, ticking here, crossing there, jotting down phone numbers etc. His mind kept wandering back to the meeting from the previous night. Once or twice he found himself wondering if he'd simply imagined it. Perhaps the lack of haul had caused his mind to hallucinate the idea there was a supernatural reason for his failure to retrieve catch. But even as he thought this he remembered the shimmer of Captain's scales, and the smooth but dry feeling of them underneath his finger tips as he cut the ropes. They were less like fish scales and more like sequins, he thought, layered on top of each other, and cool to the touch. He imagined stroking a dragon's neck would feel much the same way – something seemingly obvious to the whole thing was, in fact, much more extraordinary when zoomed in.

At one point Skiff took one of the newspaper adverts he'd marked with an X and tried to redraw the merman from memory. Even as he drew, the features trickled away like water off the side of his boat. It had been dark of course, Skiff blamed that. He could only really recall the outline of the human half – the slender nose, the swimmer's muscles – if he hadn't of had a tail, he'd have been tall, Skiff thought. But it was the tail that fascinated him the most. He couldn't remember the exact pattern to any great detail, but the pretty arrays of colours were etched at the front of his mind, filling his vision with oranges and ebonies. The dolphin mermaid he's seen two decades before had been amazing, but it had been a short sighting with what looked like a standard ocean fish. Skiff's meeting from the previous night was far more impressive, and if the merman kept to his promise, might continue into another. He still had no idea why Captain wanted to meet him again, nor why Skiff needed to bring a bag. But the merman understood that Skiff needed money, and Skiff certainly wasn't in a position to argue. Of course merfolk currency might just be seashells, and so Skiff decided he better have a backup plan just in case.

He'd narrowed it down to three jobs. None of them were exciting, but they paid. Not a lot, but it would feed him. One was a janitor for the local school. Lonely late hours picking up pencils and vacuuming up sharpening from between wiry carpets. Not ideal, but a wage was a wage. The next was a little more companiable – working with the Blair twins as a dishwasher in their cafe. Then again, Skiff remembered how Dan had acted the other day, and thought it best not to give him a reason to be suspicious. The third one appealed to him the most – the mayor was after a secretary. It was a tedious sounding job, but the pay was higher than the other two, and so Skiff mustered up the courage to inquire for an application.

Lucy had been friendly in her rejection. She appreciated the fisherman's offer, but wasn't sure he was quite suited for the job.

"We're looking for someone who's more comfortable with a ... confined environment. Surely you'd prefer a more hands on occupation?"

Well of course Skiff would, but times were desperate. He returned home that evening exhausted, and still unemployed. After an uneventful dinner, he spent the evening asleep next to his alarm, which was set for 11PM.

The ringing sound woke him in the middle of a particularly strange dream about riding on the back of a large goldfish that was suspended in the sky. After stumbling around, a little disorientated, Skiff managed to slip his shoes on, grab a bag that he strategically placed by his front door, and slip out into the night. Although he was wearing a jacket, the cold air was still a shock, and Skiff's teeth chattered as he ran along the streets of Brigodston towards Pirate's arch. It was named after the two jagged cuts in the rock face, which more or less caused it to resemble a skull. The lower areas were flat enough that kids would often sit and skim stones across it in the summer, or swim in the rock pools that the arch created. Tonight, in the moonlight, it looked more like a skull than ever.

Skiff gulped, and checked his watch. 5 minutes till midnight. He hugged himself for warmth, watching his breath evaporate into the darkness. Soon enough, Skiff saw a shape moving through the waters towards him, and a familiar dorsal fin – now vertical, cutting through the surface of the ocean. Skiff let his arms drop to his sides, and rushed over to the flat areas of the rock.

Sure enough, Captain swam just beneath it, looking even more majestic in the water than he had done tied up on the boat.

"Did you come alone?" He asked, looking up at the sailor.

Skiff nodded.

"No one here but me"

"Good" The merman breathed out a sigh of relief. "I've known humans to double cross. You're a good one. I assume you still need the money?"

"Unfortunately" Skiff looked at his hands sheepishly. "I tried to get another job today but-"

"After tonight you won't have to work another day in your life" Captain smiled, showing a flash of pearly white fangs. It was not a threatening act, but Skiff was pleased to be on his good side all the same. "Have you brought the hollow item?"

Skiff held up his bag.

"That will do just fine. Hold on a moment-"

Captain's head suddenly dove under water, followed by the rest of him in a quick, streamlined motion. In a few moments he surfaced, and Skiff noticed the water glowing slightly even before he brought the item to surface. In the merman's hands was a single pearl. But not any tiny little pea-sized pearl. This one was almost as large as a melon, with a smooth surface that was cool to the touch. It's body seemed to radiate with some sort of energy not quite known to anything Skiff had ever seen. If he peered closely, the pearl seemed to swirl around, a little storm of pastel blues pinks and silvers floating around like magical smoke.

"These merpearls are usually only seen by our people" Captain explained "They're as hidden to your technologies as we are. Apparently the very first merpeople used these to achieve strange feats and transformations, although I think there may be more wishful thinking than truth in that. But I've seen how your kind scavenge for the small pearls, and I have no use for this since merfolk usually use them to p-" Captain suddenly cut off, looking a little embarrassed "I figured this would be just what you need"

Skiff stared at the pearl, utterly amazed. It illuminated the features of all its surroundings with the same silvery glow as the moon, and it was the first time Skiff could see his new friend's face in detail. He had no idea how long merfolk lived for, but Captain had the face of a slightly older male, if he judged his human half then probably in his thirties. But it was not a wrinkled, weather beaten face. It was more experienced than Skiff's, and the skin wasn't quite as smooth. How much of this was down to constant exposure to the ocean Skiff couldn't be sure. Captain may well have been anywhere between 10-300 in merman years. But facially he was more or less only a few years older than Skiff himself. Most of his features were rather sharp – hooked nose, high cheekbones, square jaw and angular eyebrows, and yet he still maintained a kind aura, and his eyes were ocean like – deep blue, and a little mysterious. Next time, Skiff was sure he'd have no trouble recalling those features. But he didn't want to appear rude by staring, and so he looked at the pearl instead.

"I have one other favour to ask you" Captain said after watching the human gaze at the treasure for a while.

"Sure" Skiff nodded, slipping the pearl into his bag. It was surprisingly light for it's size – still heavy, but Skiff could hold it on one hand. Something about the object seemed magical. Even as it sat next to him, it seemed to hum an otherworldly tune (although, Skiff reasoned this was probably the wind. Pearl's didn't hum. They were made of calcium carbonate)

"That thing is bound to make you richer than you ever have been, and with riches comes responsibility" Captain licked his lips "I want you to use that influence to ... do something about Pescecorp"

Skiff blinked, thinking about the idea of his reasonability and promise. Then he nodded defiantly.

"I promise"

His friend smiled.

"Somehow I knew you would" He pushed off from the rock, swimming backwards as he slunk back into deeper waters. "And when they ask where you found it, tell them it washed up or something. No need to reveal our secrets"

"I promise! But ..."

"But what?"

"Will we ... meet again?"

"Why do we need to?"

Skiff wasn't sure. He was so fascinated by the merfolks now. He wanted to know everything – how many were there around Brigodston? What were merfolk customs? Did Captain have merfolk friends? A merfolk family? He needed to know, but ... there was no time.

"I'm just ... curious"

Captain cocked his head slightly, so that some of his hair fell upon the surface of the water.

"Curious? But you have your money now, and I have my freedom. How many questions do you have?"

The sailor didn't know how to explain that his list was endless, and that answers alone were not enough for him. He was never going to be satisfied. Skiff momentarily imagined himself as an old man, surrounded by books and sea charts. Till the day he died he was going to wonder about the kingdom beneath the waves, and there was no way his curiosity would ever be satisfied. He decided that it was best not to feed it and make things worse.

"I ... I suppose it doesn't matter" Skiff sighed reluctantly.

"Then this is where we part ways" Captain bowed his head "It was good to know a human that kept his heart in his chest and his money in his wallet. Most of you seem to mix those up" And then Captain was gone, leaving only a ripple on the surface of the water as a memory of his existence. And the pearl. Skiff looked down at it, his body buzzing with excitement. As promised, his wallet would be more than full by this time tomorrow. But he knew deep down he cared less about the pearl now and more the place and people that had found it. Such knowledge would have made him richer than all the money in the world, if only there was some way to obtain it.


	7. Chapter 6

**Prior Authors note: The previous chapter has been illustrated! Feel free to copy and paste the link to view here (or go directly to DeviantArt):** butterfrogmantis/art/Passing-Of-The-Pearl-790411744

Now back to the story (mostly a filler chapter)

* * *

Chapter 6

The pearl was easy enough to conceal in his shopping bag, and as Skiff walked home he tried to think up the best plausible explanation for having found such a rarity. In the end, he decided that would claim to have hauled one up from the ocean floor using a lobster pot. The likely hood seemed extremely doubtful, but his only other option was to claim he had scooped it up with Pescecorp's net. Whilst the idea of this seemed more justifiable, he'd hate having to admit that he had sunk to their levels. Instead, the idea that a lobster pot had somehow been attached to a large clam seemed to be the explanation that kept his morality intact.

He placed the pearl next to his bedside table that night. Even in the darkness of his house the crystal seemed luminous, its misty colours swirling round and round. Although they looked nothing alike, it reminded Skiff of a lava lamp his mother had brought him for his seventh birthday. Skiff had always had trouble sleeping in the dark as a kid. Nowadays he wasn't so fussed. But a child's mind played tricks on him and caused shadows on the walls to turn into frightening monsters. So after months of being woken up in the night by their son, Finn and Abigail had saved up the money to buy a small lava lamp for his birthday. At night it emitted little blue bubbles, and Skiff watched these rise and fall in the darkness. The monsters seem to disappear even with the light – the vampire on the wall was actually just the shadow of the tree outside after all, and Skiff slept soundly in his own bed for the first time that night.

He slept soundly next to the pearl too, which still seemed to be humming. Skiff was too tired to question it. Between a musical gem and a half fish man Skiff wasn't totally surprised anymore. It was a pleasant noise at least, and the more he listened, the more it sounded like singing. Perhaps not singing he'd hear on the radio, but a muffled voice. The last thing he wondered before he slept was whether it was the sound of merfolk songs. He had an even stranger dream that night. He was out fishing on his dinghy, which seemed like an everyday occurrence. Something tugged at the end of his line, so he pulled. The more he pulled and reeled, the heavier the object became. So the harder he tugged. Eventually, the thing became so heavy that he was pulled right into the water. His reel suddenly turned into chains that wound their way around his arms and pulled him deeper. He couldn't see what was on the end of the chains, but they dragged him down, deeper into the blackness, his lungs screamed for air-

The fisherman woke up in a cold sweat. Sunlight streamed through his curtains and his digital clock read 9:34AM. The pearl sat innocently on his desk, not quite as bright in the sunlight, and it didn't seem to be humming any more. Skiff left it in its place whilst he showered and made toast. The whole time he thought about his dream, and whether it had any meaning. Probably not, dreams were just sleep hallucinations. But it had felt so real ... he shuddered. Still, it wouldn't do him any good to dwell on dream, so he resorted to his bigger plans. Mainly getting rich. He gathered his prize up in a roll of leftover sail fabric and placed it back in the bag. He had a little spring in his step as he made his way towards Lucy Blair's estate again. He wasn't after a secretary job this time; he was after the big fish. Not literally, for once.

The mayor looked a little nervous when he approached, wondering if he was back to beg for the job she'd rejected him for.

"H-hello again. Skiff was it?" She began politely. "To what do I owe the pleasure to this time?"

"I believe I have something that might be of interest to you m'am!" Skiff smiled "You see, last night I went fishing as I usually do, and I let a couple of lobster pots off the side of the boat – standard stuff. After a while I dragged them up and uh, one felt a little heavier! So I um, pulled it up and there was this clam on the end see and uh, well I had a knife with me and it was a little loose so I managed to open it"

The mayor was giving him a somewhat way look, so Skiff decided he better get to the point. He dropped his bag to the floor and began to unravel the sail cloth.

"Well usually clams only contain little things but to my surprise-" Skiff suddenly unravelled the gleaming pearl "This appeared!"

There was silence for a few moments. Lucy Blair stared at the pearl, her eyes shining behind her half moon glasses, her mouth hanging open a little in shock. Never once in her forty years of mayor ship had she ever encountered a sight like the one the young sailor held in his hands. She had seen pearls aplenty – being the richest woman in Brigodston was not without its perks. But the sight before her was almost enough to make the old girl faint, and she did find herself having to cling to her reception desk, lest that just so happened.

"So what do you think Mayor?" Skiff beamed, holding it out to prove to her that it was real.

"What do I think?" She said breathlessly "Why I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" She suddenly snapped back into formation, still gazing in awe. "This will put Brigodston on the map, yes yes. Think of the tourism! The journalism! World's largest pearl! Right here, caught by Skiff!"

The sailor liked the sound of that.

"Don't suppose that secretary job still needs an application?" Skiff half joked.

"Secretary?" Mayor Blair blinked, and then hooted with laughter "My dear boy! From this moment forth you are my deputy!"


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Mayor Blair had been right about one thing. The pearl certainly brought in an abundance of tourism. Over the next few months, Skiff saw more money in his pockets in a day, than he had ever done in weeks as a fisherman. He almost wished he'd caught a merperson much sooner. But despite his new found fame in the Guinness world record books, and as the deputy mayor of Brigodston, Skiff was unable to forget his promise to his fishy friend. He still had Pescecorp to deal with – and they'd been on his back from the moment they found out about his 'discovery'.

He'd been giving a speech to a few members of the press that afternoon, explaining how the pearl was an 'indication of Brigodston's wonderful marine world'. He'd finished giving his fake explanation to do with the lobster pot, and then went back stage to retire for an afternoon of reading. He hadn't cast a line off his boat for almost 4 months, although he'd taken the occasional sailing trip to relax himself after a particularly long day of greeting eager pearl enthusiasts. Even so, he'd noticed himself becoming distant from his previously loved profession, and the realisation saddened him. As he'd made his way out into the hall way, he was suddenly stopped short by three familiar figures.

"Hey small stand" Zak leered, obviously not acknowledging the fact Skiff had not sold any fish since he brought the pearl back.

"Zak. Dave. Marco" Skiff nodded and tried to dodge between them, but the three of them blocked the hallway like an intimidating stone wall.

"You say you pulled that pearl up in a lobster pot?" Dave asked calmly. He was smoking indoors, clearly disobeying the bright red sign that hung on the wall to his left "I call the whole thing bilge water. Treasure's like that don't come THAT easily – our nets have been scraping miles off the bottom of that ruddy ocean floor for months and all of a sudden that appears on the end of your tiny little cage? Pah"

"I'm guessing you never played minesweeper then" Skiff said quickly, trying yet again to get through. Still the three man wall blocked his escape. Dave took a menacing step forwards, and Skiff wondered whether this was the end, and who would find his body behind the stage.

"Ahh Skiff, there you are. The mayor of Cliffsheven was wondering if you'd consider meeting up with him at five. He's quite the pearl enthusiast you know, and he's awfully keen to study the colours of this one. I told him it's quite intriguing"

"Thank you m'am" Skiff nodded "Five it is"

"Wonderful, I'll set up the east wing dining hall for you"

The three men of Pescecorp had to shuffle to let the mayor through, and Skiff had taken his chance to slip by as well.

"We've got our eyes on you, small stand" Dave glowered as he passed. In the moment, Skiff had suddenly been overcome by a tingle of foreboding. But that night as he lay staring at the ceiling, he found himself thinking about Captain's request for him to influence the overthrowing of Pescecorp, and how the merman himself was fighting tirelessly against the nets that were cast into the ocean. The least Skiff could do was to somehow rival the business by – then it struck him. The man sat bolt upright in bed, slapping a palm to his forehead, wondering why on earth he hadn't thought of it sooner. He reached across for his telephone right then and there, knowing there wasn't a moment to spare.

For the first time in his life, he was happy to see Big Dave and his cronies the next day. Skiff had set out extra early and was patiently waiting by the Pescecorp boat, where a large chain had been strung across the docks.

"Wuss all this?" Dave snarled, reaching for the chains.

"What's all this, SIR?" Skiff smiled innocently, waving him back with a small slip of paper. "I'm afraid you're boat is now out of business"

Dave was a naturally pale man, and it was unusual to see his face redden as deeply as it did.

"Whaddya mean out of business, pipsqueak?" He snarled. "Ain't nothing wrong with her" #

"Perhaps not, but I'm afraid you don't own her anymore" And with that, Skiff unravelled the paper, showing a legal document, and his rights to Pescecorp's boat.

"Who knew a single pearl could make enough to buy out an entire ship and leave some left over? What a lucky lobster pot"

The sailor was greatly enjoying the look of anger, fear and respect that was mixed to varying degrees on all three of his rivals. But the contract was as legally binding as any other. And without the boat they were out of business altogether.

"Don't worry though! There's always small stand fishing to fall back on" Skiff took a plain fishing rod from where it was leaning against the railings and threw it at Zak. Then he turned on his heel, and walked off down the street without so much as a side glance at their reactions.

"I gotta say boss ... he got us good" Marco admitted, staring at the chains that blocked off the dock way to their ex ship.

"My left kneecap he got us!" Dave exploded suddenly, biting down hard on his cigarette "One little oyster blister isn't keeping me from my money!" He began tugging at the chains, but even he wasn't strong enough to break them.

"T-that's kinda illegal now" Zak pointed out nervously, lacking his earlier confidence.

Big Dave gave a short, sharp laugh, like the bark of a hyena.

"Oh please so are many things. We went soft on Skiff that first day, but I won't make that mistake again"

"W-what are you gonna do?"

"WE" Dave smirked, wrapping one arm around either one of his companions and squeezing slightly "Are going to teach that small fry a lesson"

"How?" Zak squeaked "He practically owns us"

"He owns our BOAT. Not us"

"He's also the deputy mayor, and pretty famous" Marco reminded him "It'll be hard to touch him"

"We'll just have to come up with another plan then won't we?" Dave took the cigarette from his mouth and stomped on it hard. "If he's so keen to go playing in the ocean, why don't we help him see it ... up close?"


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next morning was overcast, and a slight drizzle of rain swept over Brigodston. Skiff had intended to visit the park that morning, but the sudden change in weather had otherwise confined him to the office. It was his day off, and the long narrow corridors of the council house were somewhat ominous in their solitude. Since bringing back the pearl, Mayor Blair had granted him residence in the council homes, so that he didn't have to trek back and forth each morning and night after a day's work. Skiff didn't mind too much, he could hardly complain about the assets and privileges of council home life. But it was right in the centre of the town, about as far away from the sea as any other point in the island. Sitting in his new bedroom he could see over the houses out towards the wide open ocean, but looking at it was so much different to sailing upon it.

Whenever there was a large enough gap in his timetable, Skiff would go right back to the harbour and sit, sometimes for hours on end, on the beach or the harbour wall with his ankles dangling into the shallow shore. It gave him a sense of peace. Perhaps it was a genetic thing that made him love the sea so much, it certainly felt innate. All the sailor knew was that the ocean felt more like home to him than any of the riches of the council house, but at the same time, was much harder to obtain. That was something Skiff explicitly remembered his father telling him, only a week before Finn's sailing accident. As the boy and his father had sat in the sailboat, Skiff had exclaimed that he'd like it better if they could stay sailing forever and that he never wanted to return to shore. Finn had chuckled at this, and told him that home was one of the most important things a man or woman could own. Skiff had replied that the ocean was his home, to which his bemused father had explained that the ocean could not be mortgaged, that they had their home, and should leave the fishes to theirs.

"Then I wanna be a little fishy!" Skiff had giggled.

"Then I'd have to catch you!" Finn wrapped his arms around his son's waist and had tickled him mercilessly till he squealed in surrender.

It was moments and memories like this Skiff treasured the most, knowing those were the least replicable. That's the reason they were the most precious in the first place.

Eventually, Skiff retreated into the sitting area, which was the largest room in the building (apart from the foyer.) Usually a long, serious black table was pulled into the centre for important town meetings, but at the moment it was being used casually. Lucy Blair's children were seated on two of the chairs by the fireplace. Dan noticed him, and beckoned him over with a wave of his hand.

"Hey Skiff! Come and sit with us"

Skiff sat gingerly in one of the empty chairs. Despite working for their mother, Skiff hadn't interacted much with the Blair siblings, nor had he forgotten Dan's threat from a few months before. Now however, the man was acting uncharacteristically friendly, asking about the pearl and the sailor's new duties. Skiff answered them politely, but stared at the floor, feeling somewhat intimated.

"Nelly can you grab us all some drinks?"

"Sure" The sister got up and turned to Skiff "Whatcha want?"

"Oh uh, water will be fine I guess"

"Bring the tea set too" Dan requested. Nelly nodded and bounced off to the kitchen. As soon as she'd disappeared around the corner, Dan leant forwards in his seat, looking serious.

"Say Skiff, do you know those three Pescecorp men?"

"I ... know OF them" the fisherman gulped. Dan's eyebrows furrowed in the centre.

"See, I've noticed Nelly and that ponytailed one making eyes at each other"

"Oh" Was all Skiff could think of to say. Dan didn't seem satisfied with this.

"And well, I don't think he's quite her type" The man leant forwards so far now he was practically at the edge of his seat "I heard they lost quite a lot of money recently and well, I wouldn't want my sister being with that sort of crowd. I'm thinking someone ... high up"

Skiff could feel the cool grey eyes on him, but he didn't like the insinuation.

"I uh, no I don't think so"

"Is there someone else?"

"Someone el- no no! I'm just not uhh ..." Skiff couldn't quite explain that he was, quite frankly, somewhat scared of the Blair siblings. And to be quite frank, not attracted to either of them in that way. He drank his water in silence once Nelly returned.

When Skiff approached his council home that night, he noticed a sign on the door. It was a little yellow sticky note that merely said 'East Dock'. This didn't mean anything to the sailor until he got into his room. The east dock was the one he could see from his bedroom window, and there some sort of light flashing on the pier. With trepidation, Skiff grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and went down to see what was so important.

Someone had left a large floor lamp on the dock, the kind they use at circuses and theatres. That was the second mystery. What on earth was that doing on the pier? Skiff crouched down to check the sides, and that's when he felt something whack him in the back of the head. He tripped forwards, hitting his head off the side of the lamp. Something warm ran down the side of his face. Before he even had time to turn around to see what had bumped him, he found himself caught in a tussle. A gag was thrown over his mouth; his arms were tied tightly behind his back, and something heavy was clamped around one ankle. There was a bit more scuffling as Skiff was suddenly thrown off the pier onto something shallow. After a few moments in which he got a sense of his bearings, he realised it was the floor of a motorboat. There wasn't enough time to come to any other conclusion, because the engine suddenly revved and he was thrown sideways into the metal broadside as the boat, and his kidnappers, sped quickly from the dock.

The purr of the engine cut off after a few minutes, and Skiff guessed they were quite a way out to sea. Two pairs of rough hands grabbed him and sat him upright. Somehow he knew what – or who – he'd be faced with even before his eyes had time to adjust in the darkness.

"Bmf Dvmf" He snarled through the gag.

Dave laughed, lighting a cigarette in front of him and blowing the first puff of smoke right into his face. Skiff was almost glad of the gag. He wondered how many cigarettes Big Dave must get through in a day – it had to be a lot.

"Well well Skiffy. We meet again" Dave rested one massive boot on the motorboat's chairs. "You may have brought out our big boat but we have other means of getting around"

Skiff merely glared, it was all he could do.

"Unfortunately, buying my boat made me ... rather angry" Dave's voice was cold, metallic. "And you wouldn't like me when I'm angry"

Even if he'd been able to, the sailor sensed it unwise to point out the fact he disliked the man even when he was happy (if he ever was).

"See, lemme tell you something kid" He puffed on his cig "When I was a boy, me old ma took me fishing. Know what we were fishing for?" Puff. "Sharks. Big ones too. See where I come from, my people love a bit of shark meat – it goes with the job ya know? Danger. We liked the taste of danger. I personally loved it" Puff puff. "So one day me an ma are hunting this bad boy – whopper he was, and I decided to take it on myself. Lets just say me an that shark had a bit of a tussle. Took me eye out." Dave pulled his glasses down slightly, so that Skiff could see the empty socket and small scar. He closed his own eyes.

"Anyway" The man continued, pulling his glasses back up "I won in the end. Best meal I've ever had. But you know what was greater than the meat?" He produced two shiny coins from his pocket and rubbed them together in the moonlight. "Money. Money's what makes the world go round! So it makes me very cross when someone earns more than me from a clam blister!"

Skiff guessed he was referring to the pearl, and said nothing. Dave continued to puff away furiously. "But that won't matter by tomorrow morning, heh"

He reached forwards and took Skiff's cap from his head. A few of the hairs underneath stretched like they were trying to keep it on his head, but then dropped back to his scalp.

"See, once Mayor Oldfart hears the tragic tale of how her precious secretary went out for a swim but never returned, she'll have lost her main money making scheme. 'Oh buy mayor we warned him about swimming in the dark! He just ... never saw that rock coming"

The other two Pescecorp men cackled in the darkness.

"Yes ... and so she'll come running back to us, and our boat. Oh yes, but you own the boat right? Well" Dave snapped his fingers and Zak immediately scurried forwards, dug his hand into Skiff's coat pocket and produced his paperwork of proof of purchase.

"Luckily Zak here is pretty good at forgery. We just take this document, change the name from Skiff to Dav and voila! The boat is ours again – and with it, all the fish. And with all the fish ... all the money. But what of the poor secretary?" Dave took the cigarette from his mouth, and crushed it between his fingers. A thing wisp of smoke fluttered from the end.

"He won't live to see his precious pearl again." Dave pressed Skiff's hat to the side of the sailor's head that he had hit off the lamp, and Skiff cried out in pain. As Dave brought the hat back, he saw a dark red stain on the fabric.

"Those are AWFULLY pointy rocks aren't they?" Dave laughed his hyena laugh, the suddenly cut to silence. The only sound was the sloshing of the wave against the metal hull.

"Drop him" He said at last.

Zak and Marco took an arm each and hauled Skiff to his feet. The sailor squirmed and struggled, all too afraid of what was coming. In the struggle he saw Dave light yet another of his pack, and then the fisherman felt icy cold waters surround him. The boat above him started to become further and further away above him as the weight around his ankle dragged him downwards, towards the ocean floor. He could hear Marco saying something about whether it was necessary to do such a thing, and Dave shouting.

Skiff saw the engine rev up, and the motorboat begin to speed away. The sailor really began to panic then, because he knew it wasn't coming back, and that no one else knew where he was. His shoes scraped along the sea bed, kicking up a small cloud of sand, but otherwise doing nothing else to free him. Skiff looked up, panic stricken, his eyes blurry in the salt water. This isn't how he wanted to die. Looking up, he could see the moon high above him, silvery and round, far above the sea and land. The craters on the surface stared down at him sadly. It was the last thing Skiff saw before he passed out.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

For a few brief moments, he wondered if he'd passed into what lay beyond death – because to his knowledge, Skiff had never been inside a marble room. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. His head was spinning like a top, and he half expected to see a set of pearly gates before him by the time he was able to sit up. To be confronted with a large empty cave was quite the shock. Skiff had died, hadn't he? From what he could remember, he was anchored in the middle of the ocean. He was no expert on these matters by any means, but he was fairly sure he couldn't simply have floated away. Yet the stabbing pain in his head seemed to suggest that he was very much alive, along with the feeling of being cold.

So, if he wasn't anchored to the ocean floor, where exactly was he? He cast a glance down at his ankle. The steel clamp was still attached, along with one, two, three, four chain links. And that was it. No steel weight. Ok so there was mystery number two (number one being where he was). Somehow the weight had come off, and he'd floated into a cave. Only he couldn't quite see the entrance.

Skiff was lying on a pile of soft sand, which retreated a couple of meters backwards until it hit the back of a cave. In front of him however, going all the way to the back wall, was water. Deep water too, judging by the colour. Ok. Broken chain, somehow floated up a pool of deep water and came to rest on this beach of soft sand, but wasn't dead. Alright. Skiff tilted his head, and a jolt of pain ran through the area where he'd knocked it off of Pescecorp's lamp. Instinctively, he reached up a hand to touch it, and was met by something strangely slimy. Not in a fish way, more like ...

"Seaweed?"

And not just any random piece in his hair either. It wound its way around the sailors head in a very bandage like way. Ok, there was no way this could be coincidence anymore. But then who would dump a body in a cave instead of taking it to the hospital? Unless Skiff had been out cold so long they thought he was dead.

Suddenly, the fisherman became very aware of how hungry he was. He had no idea how long he'd been out, but now that the throbbing sensation in his temple was starting to die down, he was more aware of the deep ache in his stomach. That's when he noticed a small stone lying close to him, with four strips of a large white fish, and a small wooden cup. Skiff looked around; although it was obvious there was no one nearby to share his meal. He inspected the fish carefully. Haddock, good quality too. Surprisingly fresh. Skiff somehow formed the conclusion that it must have been left especially for him, and so he ate ravenously. He had loved fish, but it had never tasted quite so good before. Then he inspected the cup, which was filled to the brim with a clear liquid. Water. And trying it, he discovered it was fresh too, not salty. A little strange, but he decided not to question it since it only added to the list of mysteries. Feeling confused but contended, Skiff lay back and cupped his hands to his mouth. He wasn't sure who, if anyone was going to hear, but he yelled loud and clearly into the cave.

"Thank you!"

His voice rebounded off of the cave walls several times, and a stalactite over head dripped a few more drops onto a rock where a heap of orange seaweed was lying.

"Never seen orange seaweed" Skiff mused to himself. Then again, he had seen that shade of amber before. Surely it couldn't be ... hmm.

"Captain?!"

The seaweed stirred, and before long a familiar hooked nose had appeared above the rock, followed by the rest of a streamlined human body, and at the base, that familiar silver and spattered tail. Skiff felt strangely warm inside. His last encounter with the merman had been months ago; to know he was still ok was a good discovery.

"It ... is you, Skiff?" The merman was eyeing him somewhat suspiciously, but the sailor nodded.

"I thought I recognised that face when I found you"

"You found me?"

The creature nodded gravely.

"I was collecting food one night when I heard a motorboat go overhead, and three human men laughing. There was no net to cut so I decided to get out of its path as quickly as possible by going in the opposite direction. I came across another human lying on the ocean floor. It's gritty stuff, and usually we're not supposed to interfere with humans due to code of secrecy. But just as I was about to leave some of your hair floated out of your face and I recognised you. You already knew me, so there was no secrecy to keep. You'd be surprised how fast we merfolk utilise tools underwater so that chain was no problem. Afterwards I had to sneak you back here before any other merfolk saw"

"Why? And where is here exactly?"

"Some merfolk make nasty habits around injured humans, and you were already hurt. This is my mercave – the bit I knew you could breathe in anyway"

"Why do you have an air pocket in your cave?"

"I chose one specially. It was useful months ago when-"

"When?"

But Captain suddenly clamped up. A little of the colour drained from his face. The he continued like he hadn't heard the question, or mentioned anything about why a sea dwelling creature needed a land pocket.

"I cleaned and bandaged your wound, and luckily you coughed up the water easily. That gag actually stopped quite a lot from getting in"

"Gee, remind me to thank Dave" Skiff muttered through gritted teeth. He wondered how the merman was so knowledgeable about wounds and lungs, and whether, for whatever reason, it had anything to do with the air pocket. He was probably reading too deep into it. But that haunted look on his friends face had not left his mind.

"You look tired" Captain said at last, following a few moments pause.

Skiff certainly was. Whether it was the fullness in his stomach, the dim lighting, the cold, or the injury he wasn't sure.

"You should rest" The merman began to slide off of his rock.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll get you some more food and water. You'll need it to build up your strength"

"How did you get fresh water inside a saltwater cave?"

"We can form air bubbles around certain objects when we need to – the salt water doesn't even touch the fresh"

"Go figure" Skiff murmured weakly, too tired to even enquire about the bubbles.

He wanted to stay talking to Captain, but the feeling was growing stronger by the minute. He was scared that if he slept, he might not wake up in the same place – if at all. But eventually weariness overcame the sailor, and he sank back on the sand, drifting into a deep slumber. Somewhere in the cave, there was a low humming sound, like the pearl had emitted, but even more melodious. The sailor smiled in his sleep, feeling strangely at peace.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Plates of fresh fish and water were always waiting for Skiff when he woke up. He'd been in the cave for what felt like several days now although his only passage of time was his own body clock. His meal was cod this time, and the sailor relished the familiar taste. Captain seemed content merely to sit and talk perched on a rock nearby. After a while Skiff noticed that although he traded much of his life in Brigodston, his daily activities, his encounters with sellers etc, even the one funny incident where someone had asked for a tuna with no fish – the merman had not traded any of his own. Or at the very least, very little. Skiff finished his mouthful and licked his lips.

"So what about you? You've been rather enigmatic so far"

Captain chuckled, playing with a small stone that was lying on his perch.

"There's not much to tell I'm afraid. I live here, I swim out, and I try to cut those Pescecorp nets. Now I talk to you. That's the wondrous life of me I'm afraid"

"But Pescecorp haven't been here that long" Skiff pointed out "What did you do before then?"

The merman shrugged, still rolling the stone back and forth between his fingers.

"Whatever's available for no-legs I suppose"

"Then tell me!" Skiff tried to sound friendly rather than forceful, but also sounded rather more eager than he meant to.

"Well ... I suppose there's the fish migrations"

Captain stroked his chin thoughtfully. His tail was curled upwards slightly, the amber membrane of the tail fin sparkled with the reflections of the cave walls. Even in the dim light that was provided only by something that appeared to be coming from under the water (Skiff could not see what) every single one of the merman's scales shone and shimmered like a host of rare coins. He knew from experience that most fish scales were fairly dull outside of the water, but the merman's scales seemed to be made of something else entirely. He had thrice wondered about asking to touch them, but wondered if that would be considered inappropriate by merfolk standards. After all he reasoned being asked to feel his legs would be strange too.

"I used to join sunken raids too, but I was a teenager and enjoyed the danger then, heh"

Skiff realised that he'd only half been listening. He'd heard a few things about fish, but nothing had snapped him back to his senses until that point.

"Sunken raids?"

"Yeah, teenage merfolk often get together in gangs to raid sunken boats and the like. I actually still have a few items in my collection"

"Your collection?"

The merman's cheeks darkened a little, and he looked down to water that covered the bottom of the cave.

"This is my home, uh, here. You're just in the aired bit. There's a small crack along the back wall" Captain pointed high above Skiff's head to where a thin beam of light shone through a slender crack in the wall "So you're at least ventilated. Below the water is my stuff"

"How deep is the cave exactly?"

"Few meters. There's a large boulder to keep other merfolk out, and kelp to hide it anyway"

"You guys are pretty secretive huh?"

"We're mostly solitary"

"You said teenage merfolk often get together"

"Oh they do. There's even a few social areas around her. I rather recommend Shelly's sushi cave" A look of embarrassment crossed the merman's face as he remembered the nature of his companion "Or uh, I could bring some back"

"That's ok" the sailor giggled "Just as long as you guys aren't completely lonely"

"Sometimes it's better to never say hello than it is to say goodbye"

There was that sense of profound sadness again. Captain sure had a habit of doing that, and every time he did so the sailor grew more curious. But as soon as he did so he'd clam up and refuse to say any more. It was really quite bizarre. Captain had already changed the subject, acting as though nothing had happened.

"You're welcome to look if you want"

"Look?"

"If you're strong enough to swim"

"O-oh" Skiff got shakily to his feet. He'd felt better, but he could stand. The wound on his head had scabbed over, which was a good sign.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to see that much, our eyes tend to go blurry underwater"

"I have the solution to that" The merman smiled, dropping from the rock into the shallow water. He scooted backwards a meter or so, and then suddenly his tail disappeared down a steep drop. Skiff waded forwards cautiously, and soon he knew why. The sand disappeared off an embankment, and below him was a steep drop of icy cold, and very deep water.

"Put your head under and I'll do the rest"

Skiff nodded, took a deep breath, and submerged his face into the dark water. A few moments later he felt a strange compression around his head, and then suddenly his hair fell forwards onto his face, and he could breathe. He opened his eyes. There was a thin membrane surrounding him, allowing the sailor to breathe. An air bubble. So that's how Captain had brought him fresh water.

"I'm sure it's nothing like your two legged home, but it's the most genuine merfolk cave you'll see"

Underwater Skiff noticed a few things that he had not before. He'd seen what looked like scratches on the sides of Captain's neck and had always assumed that to be another trophy from fish freeing. Underwater they were fanned out slightly, although they did not deform the human face. Skiff felt ashamed that his knowledge of fish had not been more apparent. Gills of course. Merfolk had to breathe somehow. There were no bubbles from his mouth as he spoke either, so Skiff guessed that merfolk must obtain two sets of repertory systems. That was pretty cool. Then Skiff let his eyes drift around the cave. The light that he had seen earlier was coming from what looked like stems of angler fish (par the fish) and Captain explained that these provided lighting if needed. There were a few jagged rock faces jutting out that seemed to make good alternatives for underwater shelves. Upon them was obviously Captain's teenage collection – somewhat meaningless objects to Skiff, but he could see why such a thing would be more appealing to creatures that had never used them.

Skiff examined them respectfully, and then moved on with his tour. At the very bottom of the cave was a huge mass of seaweed that had been woven together to form a rectangular shape. It was lying on top of a crescent shaped rock, and underneath the gap was another patch of kelp. Skiff could see what looked like a treasure chest lying amongst it.

"What's that?"

"Where I sleep, even merfolk need their rest"

"No the chest"

Captain's eye followed the pointed finger to the large wooden box. He froze for a moment, and then calmly swam over. He took the ends of the kelp garden and tied them together, so they hid the chest completely from sight, in a large cocoon of seaweed.

"I should have thrown it out years ago" Captain sighed, rubbing his shoulder. He wasn't being as enigmatic as usual, but still secretive. Skiff guessed the chest – or at very least the contents of it were part of the reason for the merman's strange behaviour. He dared not ask for fear of offending him, but curiosity raged inside him like a volcano.

"That bubble looks like it's wearing off" Captain pointed out, and indeed, it was shrinking. "Get yourself back to the air pocket and I'll bring dinner"

"Don't suppose it'll be that sushi?"

His friend grinned.

"Shelly's it is"

Captain had certainly been right – who knew merfolk could make such good sushi? Albeit it wasn't quite the same, but it was filling. The merman had been asking a few more questions and Skiff was happy to comply to these because of the experiences in the cave. Captain had wanted to know why humans liked to swim when they clearly couldn't breathe.

"Fun I suppose"

"Isn't there enough fun for two leggers on land?"

"Depends what you enjoy. My father used to take me to play in the sea when I was young, I've always felt more at home with it than inside fancy buildings"

Captain gave him a small, fleeting little smile.

"I'm sure your father must be missing you"

Skiff shook his head.

"He .,. passed a long time ago. Mother too"

"Oh" His friend gulped. "I'm sorry to hear that"

"It's alright ... truth be told if they were still alive they'd have been broken by what Pescecorp have done ... my father was always a man of humility"

"He passed it down" Captain smiled, and then frowned. "Can I ask ..."

"What happened?" Skiff gulped, and brought his knees up to his chin. "It was a sailing accident ... I was only about 7. I just ... I remember sitting in the hallway waiting for him. The doorbell rang and I ran up with this ... this drawing I had done. I don't even really remember what of but I know I wanted to show him. Only there was a policeman at the door and he said ... said he wanted to speak to my mother. They spoke a long time and I was getting cross because my father was never that late ... years later and I can still see the pale look on her face when she told me he wasn't coming back. My mother was quite a weak lady, history of heart problems and the grief made it worse." A few tears rolled off of Skiff's cheeks and he wiped them furiously. "I was put in the village orphanage after her heart attack. I was the only one left in the family so once I hit 18 the house got passed back to me. It was eerie walking into those empty rooms ... but it was good to let the memories go too, I'd been holding them in for so long"

"Do humans often do that?" Captain blinked.

"Do what?"

"Share stories of pain"

"I ... it depends on the person. I think it's good to tell someone sometimes"

"I see. We merfolk are usually just told to keep our secrets to ourselves"

And then Captain said no more about it for the rest of the evening, and Skiff was alright with that. In the middle of the night however, he woke to see the merman digging at something underneath the rock he often perched on. Skiff lay still and pretended to be asleep so that he could see what he was searching for. The angler fish lights helped, because the sailor saw – although not very clear – a small metal key that the merman brought out of the sand. It looked just large enough for the treasure chest at the bottom of the cave.


	12. Chapter 11

**Prior author's note: Another illustration! For chapter 10:** butterfrogmantis/art/Mercave-794916313

**(Also available directly on my DeviantArt page ^^)**

Chapter 11

Captain didn't say anything about the key the next morning, so Skiff decided to allow him a little time to make up his mind about whether he wanted to share his secret. Instead, he spent the morning explaining how human things worked by drawing objects in the sand as Captain inquired as to their purpose.

"Alright ... what is a 'candle'?"

"It's a wick that's stuck in some wax" Skiff explained, drawing a rectangle with a stick in the sand. "Then you set the wick on fire" He etched a small teardrop shape over the stick.

The merman blinked, looking surprised.

"What would you want to do that for?"

"Light, heat – some of them even smell nice" The sailor thought back to the vanilla scented candles his mother used to buy in winter. "And on our birthdays we blow them out"

"Birthdays?"

"Well ... every year on the day we were born - we celebrate"

"We merfolk also celebrate our clutch date, but not with fire"

It was the fisherman's turn to ask.

"Clutchdate?"

"I suppose a similar thing. You get stuff to put in your cave. Once you have 10 clutchdates you have to hunt your own fish. Once you have 18 clutch dates you can find your own cave, but some chose to stay a little longer. I went at 18 clutchdates"

"How many have you had now?"

"Thirty six. It would just be embarrassing to have stayed with my parents"

"Oh!" Skiff' eyes sparkled with interest. He'd even found out the merman's age, which was a bonus "So you have family?"

"My parents live quite a few miles away. I was looking for complete independence out here"

"Have you been back to visit?"

"At least once a year, it's considered rude by custom not to return to the egg parents"

"So you were an egg?" Skiff frowned. Was a merperson a fish or a mammal? Technically both, but that didn't make any sense. Was it rude to ask where on the classification chart they fell?

"Of course" The merman sounded a little surprised "Where else was I supposed to come from?"

Skiff didn't know how to answer that one, so he kept quiet.

The cave had darkened by the time Captain brought in dinner. Skiff was finding himself growing hungrier as his strength built up, so he was pleased to see the size of tonight's catch. He ate ravenously, pausing only to pick out stray fish bones. Once he'd finished, he noticed his friend acting a little strangely, digging his hand into the sand and pulling it out before repeating.

"Your strength is back" He said at last, once silence had settled into the cave.

"I can walk again" Skiff nodded "and my head seems to have healed"

"I assume that means you'll want to be getting back to Brigodston soon"

Skiff thought about it. He didn't fancy facing Pescecorp again, but he also couldn't back down from the fight when he had a chance of winning. He was still alive to tell his tale. Besides, hanging out in a small air pocket was going to become less than ideal sooner or later.

"I suppose I'll have to go somewhere" Skiff admitted reluctantly "I'm not done fighting Pescecorp"

"Then if you're going to say goodbye I suppose I'd better tell my story"

"O-oh?" The sailor tried not to act as though he'd been expecting this. Captain backed away and disappeared off of the embankment. Moments later he remerged, the enigmatic chest in his hands.

"I haven't opened this for several years ... I think it's time" He took the key from under the rock and brought both objects up to the human sitting on the sand.

"Open it" He passed the key over. Skiff nodded, getting onto his knees and sliding the key into the lock. He turned it to the right with a little effort, and eventually the lid bounced as it opened. He took a deep breath, wondering what he was going to see. Some sort of treasure? Another pearl? Or something hideous and gross? With trepidation he opened the lid and saw ... a book. A single leather bound journal. He took it tentatively from the chest, watching his friend to make sure he was doing the right thing. Captain merely watched him, licking his lips nervously.

A couple of pages fell out and onto the sand. Skiff saw that it was the front page of a journal, with a date that had been blurred out from the water, and a name. _Harold Sikorsky._ Skiff had never heard of this name. He opened the journal, and began to read. The first few pages seemed to have been written by a pilot, because they were all about watching the world from a helicopter cockpit. There were fairly vague descriptions of the man's life and interests. These carried on for a few pages, then one entry caught Skiff's eye. It simply said 'the crash' in large shakily drawn letters. The next few pages were blank, and then the entries were ... different.

_'__I have no idea what time it is. I'm guessing it must be daytime because I'm wide awake. Too bad every time I close my eyes I see that ... crash again. The hunger is the other thing keeping me awake, I hope Captain returns soon' _

Skiff looked up in shock. Captain's large blue eyes twinkled. There was a hint of resolution and fear in them. The sailor flipped over a couple of pages more.

_'__I've never heard anything like it. It's beautiful but rather eerie at the same time, I'm not exactly sure what it means - but he seems to do it a lot'_

Hm. Interesting. Skiff went to the very last journal entry.

_'__I'd never have believed my luck but I heard the chaps outside today. There's a small hole in the cave wall that I called through – I'm saved! I'll remember to thank Captain for saving me, but I think it might be time to say goodbye – the boys are here to return me to the sky where I belong! I'll be more careful from now on. No more crashes, no more daring rescues. Harry is heading out!' _

Skiff slipped the front two pages back inside the cover and then closed it silently. It was a lot to take in. So, Captain had cared for another human in this cave before. That explained a few things – like the air pocket, and his knowledge of how to treat injuries. But there was still a lot that the journal didn't tell him.

"So you healed him too?"

The merman nodded.

"It's time for my half of the story."

Skiff nodded and settled back against the chest, still holding the leather bound diary.

"It'll also explain ... where that pearl came from. And ... what it is"

"I'm ready" Skiff gave his friend an encouraging smile. At last, he would have the answers he'd been waiting for.

Captain settled himself back on his usual perch, cleared his throat, and began to tell his deepest secret.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_It was during the summer season, must have been a few years ago now. I was still living in a fully underwater cave at the time. I distinctly remember the fresh smell of kelp that morning, because the fishfolk markets had finally opened again. What are those? Well I suppose they're rather like what you told me you do on land – only the merfolk open stands on rocks. Food, tools, anything really, only we trade goods rather than money. Summer season is practically heralded by these and you know its autumn when they're gone. Anyway, there wasn't anything particularly special about the day other than the open markets to start with, so I was collecting muscles from the reef side for lunch, when all of a sudden there was this almighty noise. Think sort of ... thunder, but closer. Bright too because there was a flash of light. Then there was a small ripple in the currents, almost directly north of where I was. That meant something had crashed into the ocean, we can always tell. Judging by the disturbance and the noise, it was something big. When things like that happen it's not long before the crowds come in, and, being the curious young merman I was, decided to check it out first. _

_I found the cause of the disturbance relatively easily. It was a large metal can with a series of blades on the top – later I found out those are called helicopters. I went down to see if there was any salvage and found a human inside. As I already mentioned – this isn't as rare as it should be, and generally we're just advised to leave them – for secrecy's sake. But this one was struggling and emitting bubbles so there was no way he was dead. I knew other merfolk would arrive on the scene and I wasn't entirely sure what they'd do to a human that was still alive. Against my judgement to abandon the scene, I broke the straps holding him and hauled him back to the muscle reef. I intended to drop him there and get away, but even though he was now back on land, he was barely moving. He sort of coughed up water and fainted. I noticed how badly hurt he was then, and I figured there would have been no difference between leaving him in the ocean and dragging him back – if anything I'd only prolonged the suffering by allowing him to gain consciousness again. I also knew there was a good chance he'd be found on the reef too if left. _

_I made my decision right then and there. The first part was to hide him somewhere I could access and he could breathe. Luckily I'd discovered a cave close to the shoreline that had a small sand bank in it for some reason. Yes, this cave. Most merfolk left it alone because it was close to the human town, so I knew it would be fairly safe. I dragged the human into the pocket whilst everyone else was still scavenging the wreck, then went and retrieved what little I had in my other cave. For hours, I just watched him. It was the first one I'd seen alive, and up close. I figured he's have needs the same as any other animal, so I fetched some fish. By the time he woke up he seemed puzzled, but also happy with it. I noticed he wasn't drinking which was strange, and he pulled an odd face when he tried the cave water. I remembered the water in the reef had a much different taste because the salt was evaporated by some of the creatures, so I brought some of that in. To my surprise and delight, he seemed much happier with this, so I kept bringing them. _

_Weeks went by, and I noticed him growing restless. He'd covered his cuts and scratches with seaweed from the cave walls, and I noticed he had a small book with him and a small wooden thing that he'd press against it and jiggle furiously. I'm sure you can guess that was the journal you're holding. Well, I still wasn't prepared to let him see me, and when he did, it was quite by accident. _

_"__You there! Do you know a way out of this cave? Did you bring me in here?"_

_I sat behind a rock, panicking. Just as I thought I was in the clear, I turned back around the rock and there was the human, standing right next to me._

_"__Gee whizz chap! I thought I was going to go insane in here! How'd you get in?"_

_I couldn't really say anything for a while. I was caught red handed, and he was still bombarding me with questions. At some point he noticed my tail – I'll never forget the look of shock on his face – and scrambled back up to the shore, backing against the far corner, looking terrified. I was already discovered, so I assured him that I wasn't going to hurt him, and that I'd saved him in the first place, and brought the food and water. It took some convincing, but eventually he relaxed enough to come down to the water again. He seemed rather in awe of the whole merfolk premise. After that, he grew less afraid of me, and we began to find out about each other's lives. I'd never spoken to anyone so deeply, certainly no merfolk. You see up till that point, I'd always considered merfolk to be fish with just enough human to speak. Harold on the other hand made me wonder if I'd been looking at it the wrong way round. I started to think we were human with just enough fish to harness the ocean. Young and gullible me began to see the future of humans and merfolk living in harmony. After all if we could do it, why couldn't the rest? It soon became clear to me that the two worlds were meant to be, so I decided to seal it properly. _

_You see, merfolk song is practically sacred to us. Unlike what I've heard from you two legs, a mermaid or merman does not sing on whim. It's usually connected to something. Usually an emotion and a place. For example - mourning merfolk often sing above shore on stormy nights. Happy merfolk sing under the stars. And besotted merfolk? They sing around the object of their infatuation. When a merperson has a powerful enough song, these can be ... stored. There's a certain type of gem we can harness for those ... yes Skiff. The pearls. Unlike ordinary pearls that you collect from oysters, merpearls are used to trap songs. If there's no song in them they look very much like ordinary rocks, which is why they're not discovered by divers. I'd never actually sealed one before, so it was quite special to me. When I presented it to Harold, he didn't have the same reaction I'd been expecting. He seemed impressed, sure, but it was s shallow admiration. I asked him why he hadn't taken it, and he seemed puzzled._

_"__What would I need this for, chap? I don't need pearls or money"_

_I felt a little embarrassed explaining, but I did so anyway. His face changed. _

_"__Captain I ... I'd like to help but my place is with ... my own kind"_

_I told him I wanted his help, that I wanted him to stay, that I'd sing another song... but he only seemed pitiful. That was the first night we ate in silence. I tried in vain to change his mind. I brought him better fish, showed him even more treasures, even offered to make a better pearl. But less than four days later his old friends found him. I was out collecting shells and returned to an empty cave. All Harold left was his journal, and with it - his thanks for the rescue. Human's only stick around till they get what they want I suppose. I've never seen him since._

Skiff stared at the journal in his hands, feeling strangely moved by the tale. All of Captain's secrecy made sense. His refusal to talk about his life, his knowledge of lungs and fresh water and human life. And the pearl ... wow. The humming noise had been Captain's mersong. Not just any old song either. It must have hurt for Captain to give that to Skiff to help him raise the money to battle Pescecorp. And it was probably being exploited even as they sat in the cave. If Skiff had known this, he might not have taken it in the first place.

"So, now you too will want to return, correct?"

"I ... I'm not exactly sure what else I can do"

Captain smiled wanly.

"But if you get me back, I'll get your pearl" Skiff beamed, hoping this would cheer him up.

The merman shook his head gravely.

"I don't want a wasted song. It was much better in your hands and for your purpose"

"Well at least let me visit you still"

"That's risky business Skiff. I can't have you getting hurt. I'm taking you back to Brigodston in the morning, and you're going back to your own kind"

Skiff tried to protest, but his friend could be stubborn when he wanted to.

At 8AM sharp the next morning, Skiff stood on Brigodston pier, water welling up in his eyes as he looked at the merman below him.

"Captain after all of that ... I don't want to just ... go like this"

"I think it's easier for humans to do that. If it helps, I brought you something from my collection for you to remember, if you need to" He brought something out wrapped in a small white cloth. Skiff unravelled it to see a small silver fish hook. He smiled.

"Thank you Captain, I'll keep it safe"

"I know you will" The merman smiled.

Skiff didn't like how much this felt like goodbye, so before the merman could protest he leant off of the side of the pier and wrapped his arms around him in a fierce hug. Captain blinked, patting him on the back nervously.

"Just don't let Pescecorp win eh?"

"Never" Skiff choked through his tears, looking at the white cloth still in his hands. Then he stared at it. He blinked to clear the tears, and sat upright on the deck.

"What is it Skiff?" The merman asked. His friend was staring at it in shock, turning it over. Captain had only used the cloth to carry the hook, there wasn't anything special about it.

"W-where did you get this? ..." The sailor asked, his voice quavering a little.

"I ... it's just always been there. Part of one of my teenage sunken raids I think, it's only a silly little thing"

Skiff pursed his lips together and shook his head, holding the cloth to the morning light. In the right hand corner was a piece of small stitch work that spelt out a familiar name. 'Finn Eastport'.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A seagull cawed somewhere in the distance. Skiff continued to stare at the cloth. It was a rather warm morning, but something deep in Skiff suddenly felt icy cold.

"Where did you ... get this?" He repeated. "Exactly?"

Captain looked confused.

"Is it yours?"

The sailor shook his head, turning the cloth around to show his friend the stitching.

"That's the name of my father ... he'd always stitch his name into his sails. If you found this then ..."

An array of emotions crossed Skiff's face, all in a very brief moment of time. Shock, confusion, fear, longing and sadness all made their way across the fisherman's features before settling into an entirely different emotion altogether. There was a heavy crease between his eyebrows.

"Captain did you ... did you take this from my father's boat?"

The merman blinked a look of bewilderment and panic flashed across his own eyes.

"Not intentionally ... I stopped participating in raids when I was about 19, and even that was a long time ago"

Skiff did some quick mental maths, correlating the ages and date. His heart sunk to realise that the date of his father's death correlated within that time frame. It all seemed to piece together like an automated jigsaw. The sailing accident had happened 18 years ago, at which time the merman would have been 18 himself. Sailing accidents, oceans and merfolk seemed to slot together nicely. He'd already admitted what they did to wrecks. Skiff's fist closed around the cloth, protecting it.

"You could have saved him" Skiff murmured. "You saved Harold why not him? ..."

"I" Captain blinked "No Skiff that's not ... there was no body when we ... I mean I never even saw... I don't even remember getting that it was just to wrap the hook in-"

"Sure" The sailor shrugged, almost nonchalant if it wasn't for his shaking shoulders. He stood up, sliding the precious sail cloth into his back pocket.

"Skiff please ..." the merman began to explain some other stuff, but his friend had already walked away, furiously wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

Captain called after him again, sounding desperate. Skiff broke into a run, determined to get away. He knew, deep down, that he was being ridiculous. Childish even. But it didn't make the pain any less sharp. There was a sense of deep longing in his gut. The longing for a childhood with parents, to be back in his mother's arms with his father reading him a story by the fire. It had been well over a decade ago that any of that had happened. In the back of his mind Skiff understood that he hadn't even witnessed his father's death. It might not even have been drowning that had killed him, and there was no way any merman or mermaid could have prevented that. Besides, Skiff understood that they needed to hide. One human probably didn't make any difference; it was only Skiff that felt the personal loss. He wanted to turn back, to throw himself off of the pier - and tell Captain that he was sorry and stupid and never meant to hurt him because the merman had been the only good thing in his crazy life of orphanage and Pescecorp. But his legs were already outside of the council house, his finger was already on the buzzer, and Mayor Blair had already opened the door before he concluded any of this.

A short while later, Lucy burst through the doors of the meeting room.

"Oh miracles of miracles!" She sang "Look who's back!"

Several residents looked up, puzzled, and then rose to their feet when Skiff trailed in behind her, very much alive. One of those people was Zak. His eyes scanned the sailor up and down, panicked. This was bad news. Horrendously bad news. As the throng of well wishers came forth, only Skiff noticed him slip out the back door, presumably to tell his companions.

"What do you mean, ALIVE?"

"I- I mean he lived! Somehow" Zak choked, fighting his boss's grip. His heels dangled two inches above the floor.

"Grah!" Dave slammed him into the wall for good measure, then let go. Zak slid to the floor winded, but somewhat relieved. His boss had taken that news a lot better than he'd feared, perhaps because he was still alive.

"But how?" Marco frowned. "I can't say it was an ethical practise in the first place but there's no way someone could have simply ... escaped that"

Dave spun around, his temple pulsing.

"Ethics don't apply here. He's too dangerous to keep around"

"We can't just drop him again" Zak pointed out "That would be too suspicious"

"But we can't let him spill the truth either" Dave took not one, but two cigarettes from his pocket and began to puff away furiously, pacing as he always did when he was angry. Zak and Marco watched as their boss paced and puffed and muttered, trying to figure out a way to avoid the obvious implications of Skiff being alive. After a few minutes, he slammed a fist into his palm.

"Right, since he's back they're all going to be celebrating right?"

"Right"

"So, Skiff's probably going to tell his story with a drink right?"

"Suppose. He doesn't really seem like the sort who-"

"Oh he will. Zak can slip past as a waiter and make sure they're all too drunk to believe anything. Even if they do, they'll have forgotten it by the morning"

"But-"

"And one more thing" Dave jabbed a large finger into his henchman's chest. "You WILL make sure to find out how that small stand escaped. Got it?"

"Got it" Zak gulped, and retreated back to 'help' the waiters.

Skiff kept insisting that he only wanted water, but as the night progressed he felt obliged to participate with the others. Besides, the warm feeling in his throat and stomach seemed to compensate for the otherwise empty ache elsewhere. He almost felt as though he knew why merfolk sang. Deep inside a part of him wanted to do the same. He wasn't entirely sure he could trap it in a pearl. Then he had a sudden thought. The pearl. What had been happening with it whilst he was gone? He couldn't just up and leave, and it would seem like a rather self question to those who didn't – couldn't – understand its significance. Instead he hesitantly accepted another glass of wine. The room looked a little blurry. Huh, he didn't remember the mayor having two fireplaces either. Still the questions came, and he dodged around most of them with vague replies.

There was only one reason the sailor had not yet outed Pescecorp for their illicit tactic. To do so, he would still need to explain how he'd escaped. And he hadn't yet had time to think of a solution to that without mentioning Captain (who's also removed the rest of the chain off os his ankle that morning). The sailor was still puzzling this over when Zak stopped by his chair later that night. The henchman had been careful in allowing everyone else enough to pass out, but allowing Skiff to remain delirious but conscious. The fisherman was looking sorry for himself despite his surprising survival. Two blank eyes were fixed deep into the glowing sparks of the fireplace and all that mattered was he had someone to talk to, for his altered mind was not flagging the warning signals about the voice. Someone was listening at last, which was good enough, because the sailor had a lot to tell.

Eventually, Skiff also dozed off by the fireplace, his cheeks ruddy in the light of the final fireplace embers. He was still muttering the same nonsense that he had told Zak. To his ears, it was somewhat pathetic. Grown men had no business believing in fairytales. But that was all the info he had to offer, so Zak begrudgingly took it.

"Well?" Dave whispered earnestly, once his minion returned.

"Oh that was a wasted few hours – wasted wine too!" The spy huffed crossly "To think a man in his mid twenties would talk balderdash like that"

"What did he say?" Dave's voice was rough. "Balderdash or not, that stupid kid survived somehow"

Zak snorted, tapping his foot impatiently on the polished floors. The sound echoed down the empty corridor.

"He kept saying he was saved by – and yes, this is really what he said – merman"

Dave and Marco blinked in unison. (Zak wondered if his boss technically winked when he did so). There wasn't even any laughter, for this was simply perplexing.

"Like a ... fish man?" Marco asked, one eyebrow raised high on his forehead.

"Wake him up and ask him yourself" Zak snarled. "I had to listen to too much of that pathetic drivel. He's practically in love with that fantasy hero"

"Oh shut up, both of you. He survived somehow and if he said it's a merman, it was probably a merman"

"Oh and I suppose he sings song too?" Zak snorted "Face it boss the guys a lunatic"

"Or, smarter than we judged" Dave looked up, smirking. "Marco did the Mayor keep the hat?"

"Yes why?"

Dave rubbed his hands together in glee.

"I say we've got us some bait. Ready the boat boys, we're going fishing"


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Never again, Skiff promised himself, would he drink. Having spent the entire morning feeling sorry for himself in bed, he tried desperately to piece back the events of the night before. He knew he'd been careful with what he said in the first half, but after becoming almost black out drunk, much of it disappeared. He seemed to recall everyone else in the room in the same state of intoxication, so he figured nobody would remember either. Consoled by this thought, Skiff resolved to spend the day sorting out how to expose Pescecorp and get them out of Brigodston – and preferably in jail – for good. He drunk several glasses of water that morning, and by midday felt well enough to leave his room, even if he was still a little dizzy.

He walked into the meeting room and found that breakfast had been served by the council staff, and that the room was quite empty. Grateful for the food and solitude, Skiff took a croissant from what was left in the basket and sat himself by the window. Sun shone directly through the glass, highlighting the little smears left by squeegees. The ocean in the distance rolled gently back and forth, looking so perfectly ordinary Skiff wondered if he'd imagined it all along. As he leant forwards, he felt something dig into his thigh. He dug out the small silver fish hook from his pocket, and sighed. It was all real, including his stupid mistake to berate his merfriend. Skiff would give up everything he currently owned; just to be able to tell Captain he was sorry.

The sailor was so lost in thought that he didn't even hear a second set of footsteps approaching, and only noticed he wasn't alone any more when Nelly Blair sat besides him.

"That was quite some night huh?" She smiled, tossing hair out of her eyes.

Skiff returned the gesture with a polite twitch of his lips.

"So how did you really survive that crash?"

"Crash?" Skiff asked, bemused.

"Y'now" The woman gestured to her scalp "When you hit your head off the rocks. Marco said it was quite the ... accident. He seemed ever so distraught when they came back with the bad news"

"I bet he did" Skiff muttered, biting into his pastry at the same time to muffle this. "Uh, actually there's quite a lot to tell ... I just have to get my ... thoughts in order"

_And figure out how I'm going to explain being alive without mentioning merfolk_ He added, mentally.

"Well, I'm sure it's quite the story"

"You could say that" Skiff nodded, and then he burst into tears. This seemed to shock both of them, and the shock of it caused him to cry harder. Why was everything so darn DIFFICULT? Why did his parents have to die, why did the fish population have to go down, why did Pescecorp exist, why did they try to murder him, why did he ruin the only true friendship he'd ever had? If there was a hole that lead to another world somewhere, Skiff very much wanted to crawl inside it.

"There there ..." Nelly said, patting him awkwardly on the back and pressing one of the table napkins into his hand.

Skiff wiped his eyes gratefully, his sobs controlled at last.

"I'm sorry ... you probably think I'm a mess"

"Not at all" Nelly promised, but didn't sound completely sincere.

"Truth is I just keep ... losing things. Important things – important people!" He sighed and rested his head on his elbows. "I'm not sure how much more I can take"

"You could always talk to my brother" Nelly smiled. "I think he's on the hunt"

Skiff turned his laughter into a fake cough, wondering why on earth the Blair siblings were so determined to set him up with each other. Still, it wasn't an entirely laughing matter. Skiff wondered if perhaps that's what he needed to fill the void in his heart. He wondered why the void had only existed since yesterday.

Try as he might, Skiff could not find Pescecorp anywhere. He mulled over the possibility that they'd fled, which would have pleased him. This theory was debunked by the fact their large shiny boat was still in the harbour. Perhaps they were avoiding him intentionally for fear of being exposed. Skiff liked this idea, because it gave him power over them. But having asked around town, no one else had seen them since the previous night. One fruit seller mentioned seeing a small motorboat out on the ocean when he woke up in the middle of the night, but Skiff thought little of this. Pescecorp were into big game fishing, if they were doing that they'd have taken the big boat.

It wasn't until mid evening that Skiff saw them. He was just finishing a rather tasty quiche Lorraine when the three of them piled sheepishly into the room, eyes shining with an uncharacteristic level of excitement. Dave, for having only one eye, managed to look the most jubilant. He tapped Mayor Blair on the shoulder and crouched down to chair level, whispering so that only she could hear. Her eyes lit up in excitement, and she beamed. Skiff watched through his fringe, keeping his eyes on the last smear of salad cream that on his plate. For some reason he could sense Zak's eyes on him throughout the whole exchange between his boss and the mayor. A foreboding feeling of complete dread was settling into Skiff's stomach. He wasn't sure what. Somehow he knew it was nothing good – if Pescecorp sneaking around wasn't enough of a clue already.

Lucy Blair whispered something back to Dave, who shook his head. Skiff managed to catch the tiniest slip of his next words.

"Not yet"

Not yet what? That could mean almost anything. Surprises were often fun, but the sailor doubted that even a birthday party thrown by Pescecorp could be a joyous occasion. He decided to get back to his room as quickly as possible, lest he himself was to fall victim to the 'not yet' that his rivals were planning. He passed his plate and cutlery quickly to the kitchen staff and then retreated back to his room to finish the final chapter of his book.

It was rather sad really, the ending. Despite doing everything in her power to save the man she loved, the heroine's hero still fell victim to the evils of the dark world. Skiff noticed a little preview for book 2, but decided to leave it there for the night. He hoped they'd be a happy ending in the second, but for now he needed to allow the events of the first to sink in. He rubbed his palms over his face, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. Closing his eyes, he waited for the wave of sleep to overtake him. He was almost there when there was a soft knock on his door. Quiet, ever so quiet. Almost accidental, but just hard enough to be an actual knock.

"Who's there?" Skiff asked, but after receiving no reply, he opened the door.

Somewhere at the end of the corridor, a shady figure turned the corner. With that same sense of foreboding as earlier, the fisherman stepped into the corridor, and crept silently down the hallway. He peered around the corner, and saw the same figure at the other end. As soon as Skiff emerged, it darted away. He gave chase, but soon lost it behind a set of thick doors that lead to the backstage of the main hall, where all the important announcements were made. There was a tiny crack in the door, and an eerie blue light was emanating from behind it.

Skiff stepped closer still, feeling a slight chill in a draft from the room. As he approached, he heard his name. He gulped, resolving to stay quiet. Getting onto his knees on the carpet, he peered through the crack. It took a little reshuffling, but eventually he saw what was going on. Dave, Zak and Marco stood around a large glass tank, which was the source of the eerie blue light. It was filled almost to the brim with water, and the bottom had several stones and even one or two fish swimming about. Skiff was puzzled. Surely they weren't planning on opening an aquarium? He licked his lips, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind.

"Ey so uh, what then?" Zak asked, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Then, we become rich! Richer than that silly little pearl" Dave smirked.

Oh no. Had they found a merpearl? Skiff leant forwards to get a closer look, trying desperately to see behind Dave, who was blocking the centre of the tank.

"Rich" Zak repeated gleefully, testing the word on his tongue.

"Richest men in the world" Dave smirked "But first we gotta get the darn thing set up"

He finally took a step to the left, observing from another angle. At last, the sailor could see the middle. His heart sank and it was all he could do not to cry out in shock. In the middle of the tank was something Skiff hoped he was imagining. But here it was as clear as the nose on Skiff's face. That something was a someone. That someone was Captain, bound in chains.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Adrenaline is a scary hormone. It seemed to be compressing Skiff's lungs at the moment. What little he was breathing was in short shallow breaths. What? How? When? Where? Why? All these thoughts and more swirled around inside his head.

_'___Concentrate Skiff, you need to find out their plan'__

This thought kept him from making any rash decisions. His chest hurt less now too. Deep breaths. In and out. That's it, he could concentrate again.

"So what's the plan boss?" Zak asked, shifting from one foot to the other. His dark eyes were scanning the tank (and its impressive contents) up and down.

"Simple" Big Dave smirked, readjusting his cigarette with his tongue "Tomorrow at noon, the mayor holds an important meeting with the whole town. We announce that we have something far greater than any old fish, and then we bring out this tank, whip off the curtain and boom – instant riches" He rubbed his hands together. "If people thought that little oyster blister was impressive, just wait until they see this catch"

"Then what?"

"Then what what? We become the richest men in the world, that's what"

"What about the small stand ..."

"Pah. He'll be forgotten about soon enough, when the crowds come in he won't even have a chance to say anything. In the meantime we can arrange another, more clever accident for him. He was so jealous of our fame that he left town. Oh no no, he isn't 'dead' this time. By the time people care to ask it'll probably have been months anyway, whilst we're rolling in it"

"By your tone I'm assuming he actually will be dead this time?"

Dave smiled, and crushed the cigarette butt out against the side of the tank. It left a small black mark on the glass. "With no merman to save him this time either" Dave gave a pointed smile towards the captive. Captain glared back, unable to say anything for the metallic gag that kept his fangs under wraps.

"C'mon boys. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and I'm sure our little friend here needs his beauty sleep too" Dave tapped a fat finger on the tank. "Don't tap too hard on the glass or you'll scare the fishes~" He pulled the purple curtain over the tank, and exited through the back door, followed by his two companions. Skiff sat in the dark and counted to 60 five times. Once he was sure the three weren't coming back, he slipped quietly into the dark room. The eerie blue light emanated from the bottom of the tank, reminding Skiff of the mercave. He shivered, resolving somehow to break the chains and get Captain out of there. The tank itself was too busy for him alone to shift. He climbed the steps next to the tank and paused at the top, realising he had no real plan. Oh well, perhaps this was just one of those 'go for it moments'. Skiff seized the curtain and threw it off. Captain looked up, clearly annoyed. The lines between his brows softened when he saw Skiff, and fell into what was almost a much worse expression. Despair. Skiff's heart shattered inside his chest. This was definitely a go for it thing.

He undid the latches on the top of the tank and eased the top off. It slid onto the carpet with no more noise than a soft 'rshhhh'. Then, the sailor hopped over the side of the tank, and dived to the bottom. He probably should have guessed that it would be filled with sea water, but after the initial shock of the cold salty liquid, the sailor found he was filled with determination more than anything. The merman looked at him, surprise and curiosity on his face. The first thing was to remove that gag. Saltwater made the sailor's vision blurry, and stung his eyes, but after fumbling around at the back of the hoop, he found a small screw, and twisted it sharply to the left. Captain made a small noise of discomfort, and Skiff immediately began turning it to the right. After a few spins, it was loose enough to prize away from the merman's jaw, leaving only a small red ring across either side of his cheeks. Skiff's lungs screamed for air, and he swam quickly up to the surface of the tank. His hair plastered to his forehead, and he pushed it back fiercely before diving down again. Captain was saying something, but it was obscured by the water.

__Rescue first, talk after__ Skiff thought, diving down to the bottom again. He tugged and wriggled at the chains, but to no avail. He made several journeys to and from the bottom of the tank, each time making absolutely no progress towards loosening the chains whatsoever, and his lungs were burning ferociously. As he was diving down yet another time, he noticed something coming up directly towards him, which was odd. But before he had time to make a decision on what to do, it latched around his head. Skiff blinked, able to breathe. It was one of Captain's air bubbles.

"Can you hear me now Skiff?"

"I can ..."

"Good. Listen. It's pointless. Those chains are way stronger that what held you down, and you obviously weren't able to get through those so there's no chance of getting through these"

"But I have to save you!"

Captain sighed.

"Why would you do that after you sold me?"

Skiff blinked confused.

"S-sold you? No ... I have no idea how they found about you ..."

"That big fat one said you came back and told everyone about me and how to catch me..."

"I didn't tell a soul ... I was very careful even when they made me dr-" Skiff suddenly gasped, realisation washing over him. "Oh barnacles ... they tricked me!" The sailor's face was contorted with rage, so much so that Captain believed the certainty in his expression.

"Your hat was floating on the surface so I came up to see if it was a sign ... then they grabbed me. Next thing I know they're saying how you sold me out"

"I'd never do that" Skiff promised, tears dripping down his cheeks. "And I'm sorry for how I acted about my father's sailcloth ..."

"I thought that's what you were coming to talk about" Captain sighed "Well ... what's done is done. I actually had a plan too ... well that's not gonna work like this anyway"

"What isn't?"

"Remember the night I first gave you the pearl?"

"Uh huh"

"I said it was used for transformative rituals. After you left for Brigodston I did a little more research. The pearl needs to be in the place it was formed – aka the ocean. It needs a donor sample too – say hair or a feather or a scale etc. The more I looked into it, the less I thought it was just a myth. I thought ... perhaps if you were to lend a little hair from your head ... I could become human"

"B-but why?" Skiff blinked.

The merman looked down, not answering.

"I ... I thought I could stay with you that way"

Skiff blinked. Had he really made that much of an impact?

"I'd ... I'd love to help you Cap. But we need to get you out to do that"

"That's the problem ... you can't"

"There must be a way..."

"Skiff didn't you hear them? They're going to try and kill you again. This time they won't leave it to chance. You've got to go. Tonight"

"W-what about you?"

The merman smiled wanly.

"I've fought for so long Skiff. I lost. I'll accept my consequences but I'm not losing you too."

"Well neither am I. So help me I'll-"

The back door creaked open, and they both froze. A figure approached the tank before Skiff had time to properly react.

"Wait! Don't! It's just-"

"I think you'll need this to help him"

A hand extended towards the tank. Skiff swam to the side and peered into the palm. It was a key. He looked up. Marco looked back.

"B-but why ..."

Marco pressed a finger to his lips, and tossed the key into the tank. Skiff caught it, and then stared at the Pescecorp man, desperate for an explanation. Marco gestured his head towards the chains, so the sailor took the initiative to free Captain whilst Marco talked. The man sat himself on the steps of the tank, and pulled a photograph from his overalls pocket. He looked at it whilst he explained his change of heart.

"I joined Pescecorp when I was sixteen. At the time I was living off a small island off of the Spanish coast, and we had no money. So I had no choice but to join a company who's money was enough to send back to my familia. Big Dave was making the most money, so I applied for his squadron section. Brigodston isn't the first town to be exploited by hi – us I suppose. But as long as it made money, I went with it. Mostly because I had no where else to go, and nothing else to fight for. Then I came here" Marco turned the photograph he was holding around and pressed it to the tank. Skiff recognised the photo as Nelly Blair. Dan had been right about them making eyes at each other then.

"Being in Brigodston has taught me that there's things worth fighting more, more than money. I can make some living here. It was wrong of me to go along with their plans, and nothing I can do will ever really make up for that" He looked up at Skiff and Captain "But I can make a start by not hiding anymore. That's why I knocked on your door tonight  
Skiff - and why I'm giving you the key. Free him. Some things are worth fighting for"

Marco slipped the photograph back into his pocket. Skiff felt himself dangerously close to tears. He gave a final jiggle of the chains, and Captain was free. The merman made a swift circle around the tank, grinning, then scooped Skiff into a fierce hug.

Marco coughed.

"You have until noon tomorrow to get him back, and afterwards I suggested you flee. I will attempt to deny any connections, however I will stall Pescecorp if I can"

"Thank you ..." Skiff felt weird saying those words to a Pescecorp man, but he seemed sincere. Marco nodded and headed back towards the door.

"Oh wait – Marco?" Skiff called. The man turned in the doorway.

"Where are they keeping the pearl?"

He frowned.

"Mayor's office"

"Thank you ... again"

The other nodded, and slipped out silently. Once he was gone, Captain turned back to his human friend.

"What's the plan now?"

"We get you out of this tank and back to the sea, and then we use the pearl to turn you human like you wanted"

"They won't be able to find me again if I have legs" Captain grinned. "But they're still getting away with it ... we could do with exposing them"

"True ... we'll need to think of something"

The two pondered this for a while, and after a short time (and another air bubble from Captain) their plan was decided.

"Afterwards, we try the transformation, and if it's successful, we should probably leave Brigodston" Skiff sighed "I think it might be safer that way"

"And I get to be human" Captain beamed.

"If it all works" The fisherman crossed his fingers. "Pescecorp in jail, and us on an adventure" He yawned. "Right now I want to explore my duvet ... I'll come back at dawn to start the plan"

"I'll be waiting" The merman promised eagerly.

"Goodnight then, Captain"

"Goodnight Skiff~ I love you-r e n th usiam"

Skiff cocked his head to one side. There had been an odd breakup of the words there. He felt as though the merman was trying to cover up for something, also judging by the dark blush on his cheeks.

"I got a little uh, carried away in excitement" Captain chuckled nervously. "I mean I love how passionate you are about this"

"Oh, anything to do what's right" The sailor smiled "I'll see you tomorrow"

He made his way to the top of the tank, replaced the lid and curtain, and stole back to his room in his soaking wet clothes (that he hung to dry on his radiator). That night he dreamt of waves on a sandy shore, which was funny really, because they were going backwards.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Dawn broke cheerfully through the curtains, tapping the sleeping sailor on the face. Skiff's alarm clock rang out urgently, not stopping until the fisherman reached one sleepy hand and clicked it into silence. Then, he slid groggily from his warm duvets and forced himself to stand.

Stumbling sleepily into the bathroom, the sailor showered, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair in half the time he normally would. Still groggy, but otherwise alert, he made his way to the chair by his desk, where he'd collected one part of the plan from the theatre costumes. He grabbed an over shoulder bag from the back of his door and slipped this and his fishing hook (wrapped in his father's sail cloth) inside that. That was part a, which meant their plan was in motion. Next he had to retrieve the pearl, and hide that in his bag as well. This part was slightly trickier, because the pearl was kept under lock and key in the office, as Marco had informed him the night before. Skiff had access to pearl, but the big doors on the office were old, and tended to squeak on their hinges. With a little luck, everyone in the council houses would sleep through it.

The sailor approached the large doors and slipped the key into the lock. He jiggled it as slowly as possible, and after a little strain, they gave way. He nudged one of the doors inch by inch, wincing at the loud creaks. When there was a large enough gap, he slipped inside, listening hard for footsteps in the corridor. There were none, so the sailor breathed a sigh of relief. He tiptoed over to the glass cabinet with the pearl, and presented his security card to the screen. It emitted a loud beep as it registered the card, and once again Skiff held his breath, sure he would be caught right then and there. After a few minutes, he decided it was safe to proceed, as he had still not been intercepted. He carefully lifted the pearl from the velvet pillow and stroked it fondly. It's multitude of colours swirled around happily inside. Was this really able to turn Captain human? Or anything into anything for that matter. Either way they'd find out tonight. He placed the pearl at the bottom of his bag and zipped it closed. He stole away from the office undetected. Stage two was successful.

The next part of the plan was the trickiest, because he had to hide Captain somewhere. Having thought about it the night before, he'd decided that the easiest way to make Captain mobile would be to slip him inside a wheelie bin. He rather hoped the merman wouldn't take offense, especially since he had no back up plan to that. He'd selected a new one so it was clean. It was large enough to accompany the merman temporarily, whilst also holding water so that he wouldn't dehydrate, and it was mobile so that Skiff would be able to roll it through Brigodston after the main stage of their plan was operated. Now all he had to was play a little game of swapsies.

Captain was sitting on the bottom of the tank, but swam up merrily when Skiff arrived, showing a lot of pearly fang as he beamed.

"You got the pearl too?"

Skiff nodded and patted his zipped up bag.

Captain grinned, his tail flicking left to right like an excited puppy. "And you found the costume?"

"It's not a great likeness" Skiff admitted, but it will make Pescecorp look real silly I suppose"

"Let's see it"

Skiff ducked a set of whiteboards to change, and emerged in a cheap mermaid costume, which was more or less a sleeveless dress. It had a split up the side of each leg to allow movement whilst the 'tail' dangled at the front and the back. The upper area was made of a satin type material, with two seashell shapes.

"There's a tiara too but I don't think we need to go that far" Skiff muttered.

"Aw, you'd look cute tho" Captain joked. "Well, if your plan works this will definitely humiliate them"

"And me" Skiff giggled "But that's a price I'm willing to pay. Now, I have something that we can put you in – only for a few hours! We'll need to drain a little of this tank into it somehow, and then we'll stow you by the stage for a quick getaway."

Captain nodded. A few hours of smaller confinement was a small price to pay for the bigger picture. He found that if he curled his tail beneath him, it was more or less bearable at any rate. Skiff carted the bin to the side of the main stage that lead to the back, so at least no members of the public would attempt to use it and get a shock when they went to chuck their empty orange juice box or apple core.

"Ok, they'll be here soon" Skiff glanced at the clock on the wall "I better get into position"

"Good luck" The merman smiled "I'll be waiting"

"See you after the show" Skiff smiled, turning away.

"Wait, Skiffer"

"Hm?" Skiff turned, puzzled by the nickname.

Captain gulped.

"If something does ... go wrong ... I'd just like you to know that the past few months have been the most exciting, and the most special, in my life. If anything happens just know ..." He looked down at the stone floor below. "Just know you're worth a song"

Skiff blinked, an overwhelming feeling of happiness running through him.

"T-thank you ... Captain ... and for what its worth, they've been the best of mine too. But I'll try not to let anything go wrong"

"Good" The merman nodded, placing a hand on the sailor's cheek. "I've wasted a lot of my life cutting corners and burying things, but I want you to know that ends tonight, whatever the outcome"

"We all have points to work on" Skiff smiled.

"But I'd never have moved on without you. Skiff I think I've fallen in-"

Both heads turned at the sound of footsteps, and Skiff knew he had to act quickly. Captain looked like he had more to say, but Skiff decided it could wait till after the show.

"It's go time" Skiff broke from his friend's touch (which seemed to disappoint the other) and quickly climbed into the tank, pulling the curtain over just as the three Pescecorp men entered the room.

Big Dave rubbed his hands gleefully.

"Boys, I can already smell that money" He turned. "Is our friend well?"

Marco peered under the curtain.

"Seem to be. We're late as it is, let's go"

"Right right" Dave huffed, grabbing the pulley from underneath the tank. "Time to show Pescecorp what a true master fisherman looks like"

"And that Skiff isn't" Zak snickered, helping to push. "I can't wait to see the look on his face"

The tank was rolled onto the side of the stage and left whilst the Pescecorp members went to sit at a reserved table whist the rest of the meetings happened. Finally, in the early evening, it was time for the big announcement.

"Now, as we all know, our humble little town of Brigodston is home to many extraordinary marine creatures. But I've had word that these three extraordinary men have captured something that will REALLY put us on the map! Please welcome Dave, Zak and Marco to the stage!"

Residents clapped obediently as they made their way to the front. Zak and Marco pushed the tank to the middle of the stage, which earnt a round of surprised murmurings.

"I am a ... humble man of few words" Dave smiled, bowing. "And I for one would much rather answer the questions that I'm sure many of you will have" His eye darted around the room behind his glasses, searching for someone. "But rest assured, we can answer them all. Brigodston! I give you your first ever ..." He snapped his fingers and his companions tugged at the curtain. It fell to the stage as everyone in the room rose to their feet to get a look inside the tank. "Merman!" Dave waited for the applause, the cheering – the money. But after a few moments pause, the entire room burst into laughter.

"Wassit?" He frowned, turning to look at the tank. Skiff was floating at the side in his costume, pulling a funny face.

"What the?!" Dave spluttered, going red in the face. Zak laughed nervously, whilst Marco looked away to hide his laughter.

"Skiff? What the bloody hell are you doing in there? Where's the merman?"

The sailor lifted himself from the tank, waving at the crowds who were hollering and taking photographs.

"Now now Dave" He grinned "A big lad like yourself shouldn't be believing in fairy stories"

More laughter arose, including some from the Mayor herself. Dave was very red in the face by now. He hated being stood up. He especially hated being stood up by Skiff.

"I'll kill you!" He roared, stunning the crowd into silence.

Skiff stood his ground. This is what he'd been hoping for.

"You tried that once"

A ripple of shock went through the crowd, and murmuring started.

"O-oh yeah?" And where's your proof?" Dave snarled.

"He has a witness" Marco coughed, stepping forwards. "Me"

"Marco? What in the blazes are you DOING?" Dave stomped on the stage, a bead of sweat breaking in his forehead.

"What's right – for once" Marco took his badge from his overall pocket and threw it onto the ground. "These men practise illicit activities, and I can testify that the attempted murder of Skiff Eastport-Pram took place"

"Oh pish, even you don't have proof. You didn't see any 'attempted murder' did you Zak?" Dave turned to his other crony, who spluttered, unsure of how to answer, making it all the more obvious that Skiff and Marco were telling the truth.

"Dan, fetch security" Mayor Blair murmured. That had done it. Dave howled in rage, leaping towards Skiff. He caught a hold of the costume, and Skiff struggled against his grip. Marco helped to pull Skiff, whilst Zak tried to hold his boss back. The tail tore, leaving the fin part in Dave's hand.

"Run" Marco whispered, and Skiff didn't need to be told twice. He fled to the wings, quickly changed into his regular clothes, and grabbed the wheelie bin that held Captain. The merman poked his head out of the lid once they started moving.

"Did you do it?"

"Mostly" Skiff gulped, pushing it down the steps. They heard a great clatter behind him, and shouting. "Oh bother ... Dave's really in for me"

"Then we better hurry" Captain prompted.

Skiff took off as fast as he could, his shoulder bag swinging against his hip. The pearl was humming inside. It occurred to Skiff as he ran that Dave would never let him rest, and that making Captain human would infuriate him, or possibly endanger him too. Skiff didn't want to say good bye, but he also knew that there was a reason the worlds were separated. He just wasn't sure how to tell Captain. He'd grown fond of the merman. Really fond. To point he wondered if there was another reason he'd rejected the Blair siblings offers ...

The wheels of the bin refused to move over the sand, but luckily the tide was in, so Skiff resorted to carrying Captain down to the ocean best he could. The merman settled himself excitedly in the shallow water.

"Now Skiff! I can become human!"

The sailor looked down.

"Captain ... I don't think you can"

"Why? We haven't even tried it yet – and you've got the pearl right there!"

"Captain ..." Skiff looked up, tears forming in his eyes. "Dave isn't going to rest ... he'll have other contacts. No matter where I am on land, he'll come to find me. If you join me ... he'll hurt you too. I can't let that happen."

"W-what are you saying? ..."

"You have your chance at freedom, if you go now, they'll never ever catch you. But if you stay here, they'll get both of us. I'd rather it was just me"

Tears formed in the merman's eyes as well.

"No ... that can't just be the end Skiffer ... I can't lose you I ..." He closed his eyes, licking his lips. After a short pause he opened them again "I love you."

Skiff looked at his knees. A tear rolled off the end of his nose.

"I ... I do too ... which is why I can't let them get you ... please. Save yourself."

There was an uncomfortable silence. The waves sloshed on the sandy shore.

"I can't become human but ..."

"Captain, please-"

"No no, listen to me" He reached forwards and took one of Skiff's hands in his own. "What if you become a merman?"

"Huh?"

"Just do the reverse. You said yourself that Dave would never let you rest on land. So ... don't be on land"

The idea was the most wonderful thing Skiff had ever heard. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from somewhere in the distance, followed by shouting. Dave had evaded the security, and they didn't have much time.

Skiff took the pearl from the bag, and held it out.

"S-so what do I do?"

"Just have faith" Captain smiled, plucking a scale from the base of his tail. He pressed it against the outside of the pearl, and after a moment or so, it seemed to be absorbed. Skiff peered into the swirling mass of blues and pinks and saw what looked like the silhouette of a merperson.

"Now just walk forwards" Captain pushed off into slightly deeper waters. Skiff waded in till he was waist deep.

"Hold onto it, and place it into the water"

Skiff did so. The merman edged forwards.

"Ready?"

"Ready"

Captain tapped the pearl with his finger. Instantaneously, a funny feeling spread across the whole of Skiff's body, like an electric shock. The strange colours seemed to radiate from the pearl, and as they did so, the song inside became louder. A spiral of colours radiated down the sailor's body, wrapping themselves around his legs. It felt as though someone was pulling a very tight suit on. His gums tingled as fangs started to grow, and the sides of his neck felt airy as gills started to form. Captain was watching excitedly, so in the moment, Skiff threw himself towards him, wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him passionately, without warning, on the lips. The koi merman blinked in surprised, but relaxed into it after a moment or two, running his fingers through the blonde hair of the other.

Once the feeling vanished, Skiff broke away to see a glimmering blue and yellow tail in place of what had once been his legs.

"That's a neon blue damselfish if I ever saw one" Captain grinned "It suits you"

"H-how do I look?" Skiff giggled.

"Perfect" Captain pulled him close again.

The shouting was getting closer now, only a few streets away. Captain began to back into the ocean.

"Come on, let's go"

Skiff nodded, casting his shirt onto the beach and grabbing his fish hook from the bag. He kissed his father's sailcloth fondly.

"I know you'd be proud of me, dad" He smiled, holding it tightly in his palm.

"Don't worry, we can return that to the cave"

"Ah good ... ah, how do you swim exactly?"

"Up and down motion"

"Got it" Skiff propelled himself forwards, surprised by his own speed. He took one last look back at Brigodston. It had been an adventure alright, but he'd done the right thing. A series of figures appeared round the street corner, yelling.

"It's time" Captain laced his fingers with Skiff's. "Say, why don't we grab sushi from Shelly's to celebrate?"

"Ooh, I'd love to try those little octopus ones again" Skiff grinned. "Let's go"

A flurry of Brigodston residents swarmed onto the beach. Big Dave, who was still being pursued by the Mayor's security guards, grabbed Skiff's top from the sand. He looked left, and he looked right, but the sailor was nowhere to be seen, and he, at last, was cornered and handcuffed. The rest of the Brigodston residents were equally as confused to Skiff's whereabouts, but only one person saw something in the ocean. Marco smiled; Skiff had fought for something worth it.

Deciding that it was a mystery; the town residents shrugged, and began to disperse out – just like the ripples that followed as the two tails disappeared under the surface of the water, leaving only the memories of what happened behind them.


	18. Epilogue

Epilogue

**Another prior authors note: A final chapter illustration! butterfrogmantis/art/The-Transformation-798240744 **

**Also if you care to keep an eye on DA, at some point this week I'll submit doodles of the other characters ^^**

It had been 8 years since the dramatic events of the 'merman' unveiling. Nobody in Brigodston could offer an explanation to Skiff's disappearance, so it was ruled as a conscious tragedy. Mayor Blair commissioned a portrait of her deputy, and the pearl (which had also vanished as mysteriously as the sailor) to be hung in the council home along with portraits of the other famous Brigodston residents. Over time, the events of that year became more like folklore in the town, and some parents even took to using the disappearance as a means to get their children to eat their broccoli (by reminding them of the painting and saying 'if you don't finish your plate, you'll also vanish'.)

The three Pescecorp men had been taken to court, and testified against. Marco had willingly cooperated and given details, and was given a few weeks community service which he took without complaint and, on the whole, enjoyed. He'd later married Nelly Blair in a public ceremony, and begun to study law at the local college. Zak had initially refused to cooperate, and was sentenced alongside his boss. He was released from jail several months later on account of his good behaviour, and had since joined a programme teaching primary school children the importance of environmental protection. Big Dave's schemes had been fully exposed during trial, and he'd gone on to initiate a couple of riots within the jail which had earnt him an extended sentence. The boat had been given to Marco, who had encouraged the community service workers to recycle it into a restaurant at the docks, which had gained good customer reviews. Part of this plan was to ensure Dave would never have another chance to destroy any more of the ocean.

On this day in particular, it was clear and warm, and two young children were making sandcastles on the beach, their dark brown hair warm against their sun kissed shoulders. A fair haired man with a curly fringe was sitting on the wall nearby, reading a magazine, but they paid no attention to him. The older child, a girl, was telling a story she'd made up to her younger brother who was busily studding the sand castle with tiny shells.

"And then Mollie the mermaid swam down, down and down, until she found a tiny shell. It was uh – Pedro what's your favourite colour?"

"Um, Orange"

"Ok, she found a tiny orange shell. Mollie lifted it to her ear-"

"How tiny was it?"

"Well, ear sized"

"Oh"

"Let me finish would you? Anyway, she lifted the tiny shell to her ear, and heard all of the wonderful songs of the ocean, and the songs told her to go and sit on the beach because she'd find a huge treasure chest there"

"But Mollie wouldn't be able to breathe on land"

"Yeah she would, mermaids are part human"

"Also part fish"

"Yeah but like, they can do both"

"No they CAN'T Mollie"

"Actually, yes they can"

Both of the children turned to see the magazine reading man looking up at them, bemused by their childish argument. Mollie stuck her tongue out at her brother as if to say 'told you so'.

"But mister, that don't make any sense" Pedro frowned, his chubby cheeks puffed out in indignation.

The ashen man shrugged, and slipped his magazine into his back pocket.

"Your sister is right I'm afraid chap, merfolk do actually breathe both ways"

"And how would you know?" The boy crossed his arms. "Did you meet one?"

"Actually ... I did"

Both of the children were surprised by this, and their tiny mouths hung open in unison. Then they became clamouring to hear more about the strangers encounter, tugging at his trousers. Gently, the man brushed them off, and crossed his legs on the wall.

"It was many years ago" He pointed out to the ocean, and the kids followed eagerly. "But I did meet one. Just one."

"Was she beautiful?" Mollie asked excitedly, her pigtails bouncing.

"It was a merman, but yes, I suppose he was" The man sounded bemused "His tail certainly"

"What was it like?" Pedro asked, having overcome his disbelief.

"It was silver, with amber and ebony splatters, and just a hint of yellow. But all of those scales shone like diamonds"

Mollie and Pedro let out a collective 'ooh', and the stranger grinned.

"And yes, he could breathe both ways. Your Mollie mermaid would be quite safe as long as she wasn't caught. Humans aren't really supposed to see merfolk you know, especially not adult ones"

"Then how did you see one?"

The adult winced, clearly remembering something traumatic.

"It was an accident to say the least. They're far more likely to show themselves to children anyway. Tell you what, I know a secret" He jumped off the wall and dusted the sand from his trousers. "Do you know Pirate's arch?"

Mollie and Pedro nodded.

"They say if you go there at midnight, you might just see something cool. Take a gift with you and leave it in the water - you might even get one back"

The siblings exchanged glances, fear and excitement coursing through both of them. Before they could ask any more questions, another man approached them; looking as though he had been searching for someone.

"THERE you are. Come on man, we'll be late for the fly by"

The ashen haired stranger nodded.

"Sorry Jeremy, just filling these kids in"

"You're not still going on about that mantee are you, Harold?"

"Merman, not mantee – I know exactly what I saw"

"Whatever you say" Jeremy shrugged "Just don't be late!"

"As if I would~" Harold turned and gave the children a wink. "Remember kids, midnight – just don't let your parents catch you"

Mollie promised they wouldn't.

As the sun started to set, the siblings made their way back to their home for dinner. Lucy Blair met them at the door, and scolded them playfully for being late.

"Sorry Granny" They chorused, hugging her legs quickly before darting into the hall. Lucy shook her head fondly as she watched them go. Mollie and Pedro skidded into the dining hall, narrowly missing knocking over a waiter. Their parents sat at one end of the table, their plates already cleared. Marco was frowning at a pile of paper work on his desk.

"Aw, c'mon Marcy" Nelly smiled, rubbing her husband's arm "I'm sure you'll pull through the election just fine"

"But the other candidate did have some very good points ..."

"So did you!"

"It would help if the other candidate wasn't my brother in law ..."

Nelly giggled.

"I'm counting on you AND Dan to have done well. Oh! Kids – how was today? Did you play nicely?"

"Uh huh" Both of them nodded, stuffing their faces with Yorkshire pudding. They wanted to finish as quickly as possible to prepare for the night ahead. First they had to get through bath time, which both of them notoriously hated. Mollie bore it a little better this evening because she realised she could turn the water and bubbles into a game of 'mermaid'. She then took several glasses of water, a book and torch with her to keep her up till it was time. She hid these under her bed so that their parents wouldn't find them when they came to kiss them goodnight. After Marco and Nelly left, Mollie forced herself to stay awake by curling under her blanket and reading, her eyes strained by torch light. After what seemed like an eternity, the wall clock finally struck 11.

Mollie slid out of bed and tiptoed over to her brother, shaking him gently by the shoulder.

"C'mon Pedro, we gotta get up"

"Hnnsgit?"

"We gotta see the cool thing that man was talking about"

" ... oh" Pedro nodded, and followed his sister. They grabbed their coats from the hall and stole silently down to Pirate's arch. Years of wear and tear had softened its features, and it looked a lot less ominous than it had done eight years ago. Mollie and Pedro sat on the sand and ate the lemon curd sandwiches Mollie had taken from the kitchen. She'd also brought a rubber duck from the bathroom, which she hoped would serve as a gift, so she left it on the surface of the water. They'd almost fallen asleep when-

"Mollie what's that?" Pedro hugged his sister's arm tightly. She looked up. There was a long dark shape in the water. She gulped, and waited. Something broke the surface of the water. A face, almost human like except for the fangs and gills. Mollie and Pedro stared at each other. Could this really be? They crept forwards to check.

The mercreature seemed surprised at first, and tried to swim away.

"Wait! We're not gonna hurt you! We just wanted to see if you were real"

The merman turned back, assessed the human children, and approached. In the moonlight, the siblings were amazed to see a tail just as Harold had described – silver scales spattered with amber and ebony that shone like ancient coins. He plucked the rubber duck from the surface of the water.

"For us?"

"Well um ... yes" Mollie nodded shyly "It's a gift"

The merman grinned, showing a lot of pearly teeth, but in a friendly manner.

"Thank you"

"So are you ... really a merman?" Pedro asked, staring at his tail. "Where did you come from? What's your name?"

"There's a few merfolk around here, and my name is Captain. But that's our little secret~ Adults don't always believe in us" He winked, tapping the side of his nose. "But you're only little humans, so I think the secrets safe"

"We won't tell a soul" Mollie nodded, doing her brownie salute "Not even ma and pa"

Pedro copied, nodding fervently. Then he tugged at his sister's sleeve. Something else was coming out of the water. It was another merman, paler, with flaxen hair and a shimmering neon blue tail, with a yellow fin. He looked strangely... familiar to the children.

"He looks like the man in granny's office" Mollie whispered "The one that disappeared"

"Skiff?"

The blue tailed mermaid blinked, surprised.

"How did you know?"

"You ARE Skiff?" Mollie gasped, and filled him in on the events that had happened in the past few years – that she knew about anyway.

"Your father was a brave man" Skiff smiled "He helped me, and Captain"

Molly and Pedro glowed with pride. Just then, a third merman appeared. He was smaller, if not a child, about Mollie's age. He had fairly tanned skin with a sweep of amber hair pushed under a blue bandana. Below the waist he sported a blue tail, very similar to Skiff's. The merchild stared. The human children stared back. Captain passed him the rubber duck.

"Here Anchor, it's a present from them~"

Anchor seemed pleased by this, and he began to turn the rubber duck over in his hands.

"Are you going to give them something back?" Skiff smiled. The merchild nodded, took the duck gently in his fangs and dove under water. He returned a few minutes later, duckless, but with two shiny coins. He passed one to Mollie and one to Pedro.

"They're doubloons" He said proudly. "Pirate treasure – I found a chest of them on the reef the other day, so you can have some"

The other children giggled and pocketed their treasures.

"Oh, and I think dad's right" Anchor said, seemingly directed more at Skiff this time "It does have a spotty tail"

"What does?" Mollie asked eagerly. Skiff smiled, his cheeks flushing slightly.

"Another one of these" ehCaptain ruffled Anchor's hair fondly "At one point the eggs become almost clear, so you can sometimes see the pattern on the tail - especially if they're magically enhanced eggs for uh, parent gender reasons" he coughed, not wanting to get into further explanation.

"Merfolk are eggs?" Mollie asked, puzzled "Why do you have belly buttons then?"

Captain and Skiff blinked, not sure how to answer that one.

When at last the sun started to rise in the horizon, the merfolk family bade their farewells and disappeared back into the ocean. Mollie and Pedro managed to sneak successfully back to their home without being seen, and climb into bed before Marco and Nelly came to wake them up for breakfast. They placed their doubloons in the toy box at the end of their beds, vowing to keep them, and the merfolk a secret. Brigodston had a thriving marine life alright, and a great many secrets. Some were more magical when kept that way.

_Well folks that was quite the journey! I'm glad you shared it me here, DA and on discord ^^ It was super fun to write and almost even more fun to illustrate XD Sadly, this is the end of RROF! There will still be merfolk drawings, mark my words, I love those XD Plus there are other fics (Thistle In The Crown and Driftwood on here) as well as some more coming up! There's a Scotsbees oneshot in the making right now called 'Bonnie Wee Sodor'. I'm not sure which characters I'll use for my next chaptered fic but I'll get there eventually c: Also, there are a couple of mini fics hidden amongst drawings on my DA page (mostly in the 'boat buddies arc' section if you ever feel like browsing) Till then, you've been a wonderful audience and I've enjoyed going on this adventure with you all ^^ see you soon! _


End file.
